CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1961 Michigan

6–⁠3 (3–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Bump Elliott.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1961, game by game: won vs. UCLA 29–6; won vs. Army 38–8; lost vs. Michigan State 0–28; won vs. Purdue 16–14; lost at Minnesota 20–23; won vs. Duke 28–14; won at Illinois 38–6; won vs. Iowa 23–14; lost vs. No. 2 Ohio State 20–50+32−30Won 29–6 vs. UCLA+23UCLAWon 38–8 vs. Army+30ArmyLost 0–28 vs. Michigan State-28Michigan StateWon 16–14 vs. Purdue+2PurdueLost 20–23 at Minnesota-3MinnesotaWon 28–14 vs. Duke+14DukeWon 38–6 at Illinois+32IllinoisWon 23–14 vs. Iowa+9IowaLost 20–50 vs. No. 2 Ohio State-30No. 2 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 30vsUCLAW 29–⁠647%
Oct 7vsArmyW 38–⁠853%
Oct 14vsMichigan StateL 0–⁠2851%
Oct 21vsPurdueW 16–⁠1451%
Oct 28atMinnesotaL 20–⁠2334%
Nov 4vsDukeW 28–⁠1455%
Nov 11atIllinoisW 38–⁠665%
Nov 18vsIowaW 23–⁠1456%
Nov 25vs2Ohio StateL 20–⁠5044%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio State 50–⁠20; unranked in the final AP poll; 6th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 101st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 9
  2. Wk 4: 6

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1961.

Record
6–⁠3
Conference
3–⁠3 6th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 6
Points
212–⁠163
Coach
Bump Elliott
Elo
1586 +71 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
16.9 No. 10 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
George Mans
Most valuable player
John Walker

Drafted in 1962

The 1962 draft
Rd 2Bennie McRae BChicago Bears
Rd 5Bill Tunnicliff RBChicago Bears
Rd 5Jon Schopf OGGreen Bay Packers
Rd 7George Mans ENew York Titans (AFL)
Rd 7John Schopf OTBoston Patriots (AFL)

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • Dave RaimeyRBAP-2; UPI-2
  • Bill TunicliffFBUPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1961 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1961 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State6–⁠08–⁠0–⁠12
Minnesota6–⁠18–⁠26
Michigan State5–⁠27–⁠28
Purdue4–⁠26–⁠312
Wisconsin4–⁠36–⁠3
Michigan3–⁠36–⁠3
Iowa2–⁠45–⁠4
Northwestern2–⁠44–⁠5
Indiana0–⁠62–⁠7
Illinois0–⁠70–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.