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1961 UCLA

7–⁠4 (3–⁠1 Athletic Association of Western Universities), coached by Bill Barnes, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

UCLA in 1961, game by game: won vs. Air Force 19–6; lost at Michigan 6–29; lost at Ohio State 3–13; won vs. Vanderbilt 28–21; won vs. Pittsburgh 20–6; won at Stanford 20–0; won vs. California 35–15; won vs. TCU 28–7; lost vs. Washington 13–17; won at USC 10–7; lost vs. No. 7 Minnesota 3–21+21−23Won 19–6 vs. Air Force+13Air ForceLost 6–29 at Michigan-23MichiganLost 3–13 at Ohio State-10Ohio StateWon 28–21 vs. Vanderbilt+7VanderbiltWon 20–6 vs. Pittsburgh+14PittsburghWon 20–0 at Stanford+20StanfordWon 35–15 vs. California+20CaliforniaWon 28–7 vs. TCU+21TCULost 13–17 vs. Washington-4WashingtonWon 10–7 at USC+3USCLost 3–21 vs. No. 7 Minnesota-18No. 7 Minnesota
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 23vsAir ForceW 19–⁠663%
Sep 30atMichiganL 6–⁠2953%
Oct 7atOhio StateL 3–⁠1337%
Oct 14vsVanderbiltW 28–⁠2167%
Oct 21vsPittsburghW 20–⁠664%
Oct 28atStanfordW 20–⁠062%
Nov 4vsCaliforniaW 35–⁠1581%
Nov 10vsTCUW 28–⁠773%
Nov 18vsWashingtonL 13–⁠1763%
Nov 25atUSCW 10–⁠756%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs7MinnesotaRose BowlL 3–⁠2142%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Minnesota 21–⁠3 in the Rose Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; Athletic Association of Western Universities champions.

In program history: The 47th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 9
  2. Final: 16

Athletic Association of Western Universities champions3–⁠1 in the conference

Record
7–⁠4
Conference
3–⁠1 first in Athletic Association of Western Universities
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 9
Points
185–⁠142
Coach
Bill Barnes
Elo
1590 +15 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
8.4 No. 32 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Ron Hull

All-Pacific Coast

2 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • Mike HaffnerRBAP-2
  • Foster AndersenOTAP-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 Athletic Association of Western Universities standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCLA3–⁠17–⁠416
Washington2–⁠1–⁠15–⁠4–⁠1
USC2–⁠1–⁠14–⁠5–⁠1
Stanford1–⁠34–⁠6
California1–⁠31–⁠8–⁠1

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