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1961 Purdue

6–⁠3 (4–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Jack Mollenkopf, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Purdue in 1961, game by game: won at Washington 13–6; lost vs. Notre Dame 20–22; won vs. Miami (OH) 19–6; lost at Michigan 14–16; won vs. Iowa 9–0; won at Illinois 23–9; won vs. Michigan State 7–6; lost at Minnesota 7–10; won at Indiana 34–12+22−3Won 13–6 at Washington+7WashingtonLost 20–22 vs. Notre Dame-2Notre DameWon 19–6 vs. Miami (OH)+13Miami (OH)Lost 14–16 at Michigan-2MichiganWon 9–0 vs. Iowa+9IowaWon 23–9 at Illinois+14IllinoisWon 7–6 vs. Michigan State+1Michigan StateLost 7–10 at Minnesota-3MinnesotaWon 34–12 at Indiana+22Indiana
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 23atWashingtonW 13–⁠633%
Oct 7vsNotre DameL 20–⁠2271%
Oct 14vsMiami (OH)W 19–⁠676%
Oct 21atMichiganL 14–⁠1649%
Oct 28vsIowaW 9–⁠044%
Nov 4atIllinoisW 23–⁠968%
Nov 11vsMichigan StateW 7–⁠653%
Nov 18atMinnesotaL 7–⁠1036%
Nov 25atIndianaW 34–⁠1270%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Indiana 34–⁠12; No. 12 in the final AP poll; 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 15th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 9: 7
  2. Final: 12

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.

Led the nationRon DiGravio: passer rating (140.1)

Record
6–⁠3
Conference
4–⁠2 4th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 7
Points
146–⁠87
Coach
Jack Mollenkopf
Elo
1641 +71 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
16.5 No. 12 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Jack Elwell and Stan Sczurek
Most valuable player
Jack Elwell

Drafted in 1962

The 1962 draft
Rd 4Stan Sczurek OGCleveland Browns
Rd 6Larry Bowie OTMinnesota Vikings
Rd 6John Elwell ESt. Louis Cardinals
Rd 3Jack Elwell WRBuffalo Bills (AFL)

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

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.