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1961 Ole Miss

9–⁠2 (5–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by John Vaught, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ole Miss in 1961, game by game: won vs. Arkansas 16–0; won at Kentucky 20–6; won vs. Florida State 33–0; won vs. Houston 47–7; won vs. Tulane 41–0; won vs. Vanderbilt 47–0; lost at LSU 7–10; won vs. Chattanooga 54–0; won vs. Tennessee 24–10; won at Mississippi State 37–7; lost vs. No. 4 Texas 7–12+54−5Won 16–0 vs. Arkansas+16ArkansasWon 20–6 at Kentucky+14KentuckyWon 33–0 vs. Florida State+33Florida StateWon 47–7 vs. Houston+40HoustonWon 41–0 vs. Tulane+41TulaneWon 47–0 vs. Vanderbilt+47VanderbiltLost 7–10 at LSU-3LSUWon 54–0 vs. Chattanooga+54ChattanoogaWon 24–10 vs. Tennessee+14TennesseeWon 37–7 at Mississippi State+30Mississippi Sta…Lost 7–12 vs. No. 4 Texas-5No. 4 Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 23vsArkansasW 16–⁠071%
Sep 30atKentuckyW 20–⁠668%
Oct 7vsFlorida StateW 33–⁠085%
Oct 14vsHoustonW 47–⁠779%
Oct 21vsTulaneW 41–⁠088%
Oct 28vsVanderbiltW 47–⁠089%
Nov 4atLSUL 7–⁠1056%
Nov 11vsChattanoogaW 54–⁠098%
Nov 18vsTennesseeW 24–⁠1080%
Dec 2atMississippi StateW 37–⁠777%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs4TexasCotton BowlL 7–⁠1257%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas 12–⁠7 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 5 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 9
  2. Wk 2: 2
  3. Wk 3: 2
  4. Wk 4: 1
  5. Wk 5: 2
  6. Wk 6: 2
  7. Wk 7: 2
  8. Wk 8: 7
  9. Wk 9: 6
  10. Wk 10: 6
  11. Wk 11: 5
  12. Final: 5

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
9–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠1 3rd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 1
Points
333–⁠52
Coach
John Vaught
Elo
1755 +58 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
30.7 No. 1 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

Drafted in 1962

The 1962 draft
Rd 3Billy Ray Adams BSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 4Glynn Griffing QBNew York Giants
Rd 5Bookie Bolin OGNew York Giants
Rd 5Chuck Morris BGreen Bay Packers
Rd 6Jerry Brown OGSan Francisco 49ers

All-SEC

2 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Ralph SmithEAP-2; UPI-2
  • Bookie BolinOGUPI-2
  • Doug ElmoreQBAP-2; UPI-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 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama7–⁠011–⁠01
LSU6–⁠010–⁠14
Ole Miss5–⁠19–⁠25
Georgia Tech4–⁠37–⁠413
Tennessee4–⁠36–⁠4
Florida3–⁠34–⁠5–⁠1
Auburn3–⁠46–⁠4
Kentucky2–⁠45–⁠5
Georgia2–⁠53–⁠7
Mississippi State1–⁠55–⁠5
Tulane1–⁠52–⁠8
Vanderbilt1–⁠62–⁠8

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