Wikipedia

1961 LSU Tigers football team

The 1961 LSU Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Louisiana State University (LSU) as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1961 college football season. In their seventh and final year under head coach Paul Dietzel, the Tigers compiled a 10–1 record (6–0 in conference games), tied with Alabama for the SEC championship, and were ranked No. 3 in the final UPI coaches poll and No. 4 in the final AP writers poll. After losing the season opener to Rice, The Tigers won 10 consecutive games, including a 10–0 victory over No. 3 Georgia Tech, a 10–7 victory over No. 2 Ole Miss, and a 25–7 victory over No. 7 Colorado in the 1962 Orange Bowl. They shut out five opponents, outscored all opponents by a total of 234 to 50, and ranked fourth nationally in both scoring defense (5.0 points per game) and rushing defense (79.4 yards per game).

1961 LSU Tigers football
Official team portrait from 1962 Gumbo
SEC co-champion
Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 25–7 vs. Colorado
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 4
Record10–1 (6–0 SEC)
Head coach
Home stadiumTiger Stadium
Seasons
← 1960
1962 →
1961 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Alabama + 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 0 – 0
No. 4 LSU + 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
No. 5 Ole Miss 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 13 Georgia Tech 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Tennessee 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Florida 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 1
Auburn 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Kentucky 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Georgia 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Mississippi State 1 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Tulane 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Vanderbilt 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

LSU guard Roy Winston was a consensus first-team pick on the 1961 All-America football team. Other key players for LSU included halfback and College Football Hall of Fame inductee Jerry Stovall, fullback Wendell Harris, end Gene Sykes, tackle Billy Booth, and guard Monk Guillot.

From 1958 to 1961, Paul Dietzel led LSU to three bowl games, a national championship in 1958, and a 35–7–1 record. Four days after the 1962 Orange Bowl, Dietzel left LSU (with four of his assistant coaches) to become the head coach at Army.[1]

LSU played its home games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 23at Rice*No. 5
L 16–373,000[2]
September 308:00 p.m.Texas A&M*
W 16–764,000[3]
October 78:00 p.m.No. 3 Georgia Tech
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA
W 10–068,000[4]
October 14at South Carolina*
W 42–028,000[5]
October 218:00 p.m.Kentucky No. 10
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA
W 24–1466,000[6]
October 28at FloridaNo. 7
W 23–046,000[7]
November 48:00 p.m.No. 2 Ole MissNo. 6
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)
W 10–768,000[8]
November 11at North Carolina*No. 4
W 30–028,000[9]
November 188:00 p.m.Mississippi StateNo. 4
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)
W 14–658,000[10]
November 258:00 p.m.TulaneNo. 4
W 62–063,500[11]
January 1, 196212:30 p.m.vs. No. 7 Colorado*No. 4
ABCW 25–762,391[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[13]

Statistics

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During its 10-game regular season, LSU tallied tallied 2,196 rushing yards (219.6 yard per game) and 704 passing yards. The Tigers ran 516 rushing plays for an average gain of 4.2 yards. On defense, they held opponents to 794 rushing yards (79.4 yards per game) and 909 passing yards.[14] The team ranked fourth nationally in both scoring defense (5.0 points per game) and rushing defense (79.4 yards per game).[15]

LSU's passing leaders during the regular season were Lynn Amedee (40-for-94, 485 yards, 2 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 80.5 quarterback rating) and Jimmy Field (12-for 25, 239 yards, 2 touchdowns 1 interception, 146.7 quarterback rating).[14][16]

The team's leading rushers during the regular season were Earl Gros (406 yards, 90 carries, 4.5-yard average); Jerry Stovall (405 yards, 65 carries, 6.2-yard average); Bo Campbell (319 yards, 48 carries, 6.6-yard average); Ray Wilkins (264 yards, 66 carries, 4.0-yard average); Wendell Harris (241 yards, 65 carries, 3.7-yard average); Jimmy Field (199 yards, 53 carries, 3.7-yard average); and Charles Cranford (156 yards, 48 carries, 3.2-yard average).[14]

The leading receivers were Wendell Harris (10 receptions, 177 yards, 17.7-yard average, two touchdowns), Jerry Stovall (9 receptions, 135 yards, 14.0-yard average, 0 touchdowns); Charles Cranford (7 receptions, 101 yards, 14.4-yard average, 0 touchdowns); and Ray Wilkins (9 receptions, 72 yards, 8.0-yard average.[14]

Wendell Harris led the team, and ranked fourth in the nation, in scoring with 94 points on eight touchdowns, six-of-nine on field goals, 26-of-29 on extra points, and a two-point conversion run. Two players (Campbell and Gros) tied for second place in scoring with 24 points each.[14]

Punting was handled by Jerry Stovall (51 punts, 37.8-yard average) and Danny Neumann (10 punds, 43.6-yard average).[14]

Awards and honors

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LSU guard Roy Winston was a consensus first-team pick on the 1961 All-America college football team.[17] He received first-team honors from the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI), and Football Writers Association of America, among others.

Seven LSU players received recognition from the AP or UPI on the 1961 All-SEC football team: guard Roy Winston (AP-1, UPI-1); halfback Jerry Stovall (AP-2, UPI-1); fullback Wendell Harris (AP-1, UPI-2); tackle Billy Booth (AP-2, UPI-3); guard Monk Guillot (AP-2); fullback Earl Gros (AP-3); and end Gene Sykes (AP-3).[18][19]

Jerry Stovall was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.[20]

Personnel

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Players

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  • Lynn Amedee, quarterback, junior, 175 pounds
  • Billy Booth, tackle, senior, 225 pounds
  • Edward Campbell
  • Charles Cranford, fullback
  • Don Estes, tackle, junior, 225 pounds
  • Jimmy Field, quarterback
  • Bob Flurry, end, 200 pounds
  • Dexter Gary, guard, 204 pounds
  • Jack Gates, end, junior, 198 pounds
  • Dennis Gaubatz (#53), center, junior, 209 pounds
  • Earl Gros, fullback, senior, 215 pounds
  • Monk Guillot, guard, senior, 200 pounds
  • Edward Habert, guard, 196 pounds
  • Buddy Hamic, fullback
  • Dan Hargett, guard
  • Wendell Harris, fullback, senior, 197 pounds
  • Robbie Hucklebridge, guard
  • Gary Kinchen, center
  • John Mercer
  • Fred Miller, tackle, 227 pounds
  • Mike Morgan, end
  • Tommy Neck (#34), halfback, senior, 187 pounds
  • Danny Neumann, end, 192 pounds
  • Sammy Odom, guard
  • Ralph Pere, tackle, 200 pounds
  • Dwight Robinson, quarterback
  • Bob Richards, tackle
  • Buddy Soefker, halfback
  • Jerry Stovall, halfback, junior, 193 pounds
  • Gene Sykes, end, junior, 185 pounds
  • Billy Truax, end
  • Steve Ward, fullback/linebacker, junior
  • Ray Wilkins, halfback
  • Roy Winston, guard and captain, senior, 224 pounds
  • Jerry Young, end

[21]

Coaches and administrators

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Paul Dietzel, Four Assistants to Take Army Coaching Job". The Shreveport Times. January 6, 1962. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Cox' pass shoe stabs LSU, 16–3". The American-Statesman. September 24, 1961. Retrieved October 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "LSU scores late to defeat A&M". The Brownsville Herald. October 1, 1961. Retrieved October 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "LSU Tigers upset vaunted Georgia Tech, 10–0". Monroe Morning World. October 8, 1961. Retrieved October 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "LSU tallies in every period, trounces USC". The Times and Democrat. October 15, 1961. Retrieved October 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "LSU's defense keys 24–14 win". Fort Lauderdale News. October 22, 1961. Retrieved October 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "High ranked Tigers convince Gators with 23–0 win". The Tampa Tribune. October 29, 1961. Retrieved October 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "LSU does it again! Ole Miss goes down". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. November 5, 1961. Retrieved October 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "LSU Tigers wallop UNC". The State. November 12, 1961. Retrieved October 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "LSU tames Mississippi State in thriller, 14–6". Lake Charles American-Press. November 19, 1961. Retrieved October 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Thundering Tigers maul Green Wave 62–0, accept Orange Bowl bid". Lake Charles American-Press. November 26, 1961. Retrieved September 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "LSU whips Colorado in Orange Bowl 25–7". The Tampa Tribune. January 2, 1962. Retrieved October 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "1961 LSU Fighting Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  14. ^ a b c d e f "Louisiana State Grid Statistics". The News-Star. November 29, 1961. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Offficial Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1962.
  16. ^ "1961 LSU Fighting Tigers Stats". S/R College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  17. ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 9. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  18. ^ Vernon Butler (December 5, 1961). "LSU's Winston Unanimous All-SEC Choice". The Shreveport Journal. p. 12A – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ David M. Moffit (November 29, 1961). "LSU's Stovall, Winston Make All-SEC First Team". Monroe News-Star. p. 14A – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Jerry Stovall". National Football Foundation. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  21. ^ Gumbo yearbook, 1962, pp. 210-211.
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