1961 USC
4–5–1 (2–1–1 Athletic Association of Western Universities), coached by John McKay. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Stanford 30–15Nov 11
By 15 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22 | vs Georgia Tech | L 7–27 | 51% |
| Sep 29 | vs SMU | W 21–16 | 68% |
| Oct 7 | vs Iowa | L 34–35 | 33% |
| Oct 14 | at Notre Dame | L 0–30 | 36% |
| Oct 21 | at California | W 28–14 | 43% |
| Oct 28 | vs Illinois | W 14–10 | 64% |
| Nov 4 | at Washington | T 0–0 | 26% |
| Nov 11 | vs Stanford | W 30–15 | 71% |
| Nov 18 | at Pittsburgh | L 9–10 | 45% |
| Nov 25 | vs UCLA | L 7–10 | 44% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to UCLA 10–7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Athletic Association of Western Universities.
In program history: The 99th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).
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
- 4–5–1
- Conference
- 2–1–1 tied for 2nd in Athletic Association of Western Universities
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 150–167
- Coach
- John McKay
- Elo
- 1491 −4 this season
- SP+ rating
- —
- SRS
- 1.2 No. 56 of 111 major-college teams
- Recruiting class
- —
- Captain
- Britt Williams
Drafted in 1962
The 1962 draft| Rd 3 | Jim Bates E | Chicago Bears |
| Rd 5 | Ben Wilson RB | Los Angeles Rams |
| Rd 6 | Mike Bundra OT | Detroit Lions |
| Rd 6 | Frank Buncom LB | San Diego Chargers (AFL) |
All-Pacific Coast
5 first teamFirst team
Pete BeathardQB- Ben WilsonFB
- Hal BedsoleE
Frank BuncomOT- Britt WilliamsOG
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
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 3–1 | 7–4 | 16 |
| Washington | 2–1–1 | 5–4–1 | |
| USC | 2–1–1 | 4–5–1 | |
| Stanford | 1–3 | 4–6 | |
| California | 1–3 | 1–8–1 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.