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1961 Kansas Jayhawks football team

American college football season

Field	Value
year	1961
team	Kansas Jayhawks
sport	football
conference	Big Eight Conference
short_conf	Big 8
CoachRank	15
record	7–3–1
conf_record	5–2
head_coach	Jack Mitchell
hc_year	4th
stadium	Memorial Stadium
champion	Bluebonnet Bowl champion
bowl	[Bluebonnet Bowl](1961-bluebonnet-bowl)
bowl_result	W 33–7 vs. [Rice](1961-rice-owls-football-team)

The 1961 Kansas Jayhawks football team was an American football team represented the University of Kansas as a member of the Big Eight Conference (Big 8) during the 1961 college football season. In their fourth year under head coach Jack Mitchell, the Jayhawks compiled a 6–3–1 record (5–2 in conference games), finished in second place in the Big 8, and outscored opponents by a total of 269 to 88. They were ranked No. 15 in the final AP writers poll and UPI coaches poll.

After starting the season 0–2–1, the Jayhawks won six consecutive games. Highlights of the season included a 10–0 victory over Oklahoma (the Jayhawks' first victory over the Sooners since 1946), a 34–0 victory over in-state rival Kansas State, a 53–7 road victory over California, and a 33–7 postseason victory over Rice in the 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl.

Senior quarterback John Hadl led the team with 958 yards of total offense in the regular season and was selected by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) as a first-team All-American. He also received 33 first-place votes for the Heisman Trophy and was seventh in the balloting.

Kansas played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

Schedule

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Statistics

The team gained an average of 254.0 rushing yards and 75.1 passing yards per game during the regular season. On defense, Kansas gave up an average of 126.6 rushing yards and 112.4 passing yards per game.

Quarterback John Hadl led the team with 958 yards of total offense. He completed 44 of 93 passes (47.3%) for 665 yards with seven touchdowns, six interceptions, and a 119.3 quarterback rating. He also had 293 rushing yards.

Halfback Curtis McClinton was the team's leading scorer (60 points), leading receiver (nine receptions for 151 yards), and ranked second in rushing (516 yards, 122 carries, 4.2-yards average).

Ken Coleman led the team in rushing yards (549 yards, 110 carries, 5.0-yard average), and Tony Leiker led the team in rushing yards per carry (27 carries for 248 yards, 9.2 yards per carry).

Awards and honors

Quarterback John Hadl was selected a first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). He was named to the second team by the United Press International (UPI) and the third team by the Associated Press (AP). He also received 33 first-place votes and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting.

Four Kansas players were recognized by the AP or UPI on the 1961 All-Big Eight Conference football team: Hadl (AP-1, UPI-1); halfback Curtis McClinton (AP-1, UPI-1); guard Elvin Basham (AP-2, UPI-2); and center Kent Staub (AP-1, UPI-2).

1962 NFL draft

References

Flem Hall. (September 24, 1961). "17-16! Frogs Rally To Jolt Kansas: Spearman 3-Pointr Beats KU". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
(October 1, 1961). "Almost Too Much For K.U.". The Manhattan Mercury.
Frank Pittman. (October 8, 1961). "Colorado Stages Tremendous Rally To Turn Back Jayhawkers 20-19". The Daily Sentinel.
Bert McGrane. (October 15, 1961). "Iowa State Falls, 21-7: 7-7 Until Kansas Strikes in Last Quarter". The Des Moines Register.
Nick Seitz. (October 22, 1961). "Jayhawks Upend Sooners, 10-0, To End Big Drought: Kansans' Win Over Oklahoma 1st in 15 Years". The Norman Transcript.
(October 29, 1961). "Jayhawks Rip Oklahoma State In Stron Offensive Showing: Superb Show By Hadl". The Manhattan Mercury.
Don Bryant. (November 5, 1961). "Hadl Handles NU, 28-6". Lincoln Journal and Star.
John Eidson. (November 12, 1961). "Kansas' Hadl Sparks Win". The Manhattan Mercury.
Curley Grieve. (November 19, 1961). "Cal, Stanford Routed: Hapless Bears Hit By 53-7". The San Francisco Examiner.
William E. Richardson. (November 26, 1961). "Missouri Line Puts Clamps on K.U.". The Kansas City Star.
Morey, Earl. (November 27, 1961). "MU defense great in big win over KU". Lawrence Daily Journal-World.
Jim Trinkle. (December 17, 1961). "Jayhawks Submerge Rice, 33-7". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Mayer, Bill. (December 18, 1961). "Dedicated, jubilant Hawks throw off bad effects and end season on strong note". Lawrence Daily Journal-World.
"1961 Kansas Jayhawks Stats". Sports Reference LLC.
"FWAA All-America Since 1944: The All-Time Team".
"1961 Heisman Trophy Voting". Sports Reference LLC.
(November 28, 1961). "Bowl Bound Colorado Buffaloes Land 3 On All-Big Eight Team". The Bee: Danville, Virginia.
(December 6, 1961). "Colorado Dominates All-Big Eight Team". Warren County Observer.
"Reference at www.pro-football-reference.com".

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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