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1961 Michigan State Spartans football team

1961 Michigan State Spartans football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 8
Record7–2 (5–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPGeorge Saimes
CaptainEd Ryan
Home stadiumSpartan Stadium
Seasons
← 1960
1962 →
1961 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Ohio State $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 1
No. 6 Minnesota 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
No. 8 Michigan State 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
No. 12 Purdue 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Wisconsin 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Michigan 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Iowa 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Northwestern 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Indiana 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Illinois 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1961 Michigan State Spartans football team was an American football team that represented Michigan State University in the 1961 Big Ten Conference football season. In their eighth season under head coach Duffy Daugherty, the Spartans compiled a 7–2 record (5–2 in conference games), finished in third place in the Big Ten Conference, and were ranked No. 8 in the final AP poll. They outscored opponents by a total of 192 to 50.[1][2]

The team tallied an average of 237.2 passing yards, 83.3 passing yards, and 21.3 points per game. On defense, they gave up an average of 116.1 rushing yards, 78.4 passing yards, and 5.6 points per game.[3]

The Spartans defeated rivals Michigan (28-0), Notre Dame (17-7), and Indiana (35-0), and were ranked No. 1 in the AP poll in early November. They then lost consecutive games on the road to Minnesota (0–13) and Purdue (6–7), dropping from No. 1 to No. 9.

Fullback George Saimes led the team in both rushing (451 yards, 5.5 yards per carry) and scoring (48 points) and was selected as the team's most valuable player.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 30at WisconsinNo. 10
W 20–050,584[4][5]
October 7Stanford*No. 6
W 31–361,367[6]
October 14at No. 6 MichiganNo. 5
W 28–0103,198[7]
October 21No. 6 Notre Dame*No. 1
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
W 17–776,132[8]
October 28IndianadaggerNo. 1
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
W 35–055,361[9]
November 4at MinnesotaNo. 1
L 0–1359,941[10][11]
November 11at PurdueNo. 6
L 6–745,638[12]
November 18NorthwesternNo. 9
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 21–1351,403[13]
November 25IllinoisNo. 8
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 34–738,344[14]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Award winners

Junior fullback George Saimes was selected as the team's most valuable player.[15] He won first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) on the 1961 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[16][17][18][19] Other notable players on the 1961 team included:

Tackle Dave Behrman was selected by the AP and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) on the 1961 All-America team.[20]

Sophomore halfback Sherman Lewis received second-team all-conference honors from the AP.[21]

Guard Ed Budde received third-team all-conference honors from the AP.[21]

Statistical leaders

Quarterback Pete Smith led the team in passing, completing 42 of 94 passes for 630 yards with five touchdown passes and seven interceptions.[3]

George Saimes led the team with 451 rushing yards on 82 carries for an average of 5.5 yards per carry. He also led the team in scoring with 48 yards on eight rushing touchdowns.[3]

Lonnie Sanders led the team in receiving with 15 catches for 247 yards.[3]

Sherman Lewis ranked second on the team in both rushing (399 yards) and scoring (30 points).[3]

Varsity letters

A total of 42 players received varsity letters for their participation on the 1961 Michigan State team.[15] Players who went on to play professional football are marked with an asterisk.

[15]

References

  1. ^ "2016 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. pp. 146, 155. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  2. ^ "1961 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e "1961 Michigan State Spartans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  4. ^ George S. Alderton (October 1, 1961). "State Power Crunches Badgers, 20-0". Lansing State Journal. pp. 49, 54 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Monte McCormick (October 1, 1961). "Spartans Rout Sputtering Badgers: Wisconsin Eleven 'Boots' Numerous Chances". Wisconsin State Journal. pp. 1, 4 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ George S. Alderton (October 8, 1961). "Fumble-Plagued Michigan State Stifles Stubborn Stanford, 31-3". Lansing State Journal. pp. 53, 58 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Lyall Smith (October 15, 1961). "It's Michigan State: C-R-U-N-C-H, 28-0: Spartan Defense Ruins U-M". Detroit Free Press. pp. D1, D3 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ George S. Alderton (October 22, 1961). "Spartans' Rousing Rally Downs Irish". Lansing State Journal. pp. 49, 51 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ George S. Alderton (October 29, 1961). "State's TD Cascade Swamps Hoosiers". Lansing State Journal. pp. 49, 54 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Dick Gordon (November 5, 1961). "Gophers Shock Spartans 13-0". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. pp. 1, 2 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ George S. Alderton (November 5, 1961). "State Dreams Dimmed in Gopherland". Lansing State Journal. pp. 55, 56 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Bob Hoerner (November 12, 1961). "Purdue Kills Slim State Title Hope, 7-6". Lansing State Journal. pp. 55, 56 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ George S. Alderton (November 19, 1961). "Spartans Back on Victory Road, 21-13". Lansing State Journal. pp. 53, 54 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ George S. Alderton (November 26, 1961). "Spartans Outclass Illinois, 34 to 7". Lansing State Journal. pp. 57, 58 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b c George S. Alderton (November 28, 1961). "Duffy Is 'Fed Up' With Griping Fans". Lansing State Journal. pp. 21, 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Big Line Tops Classy AP All-America Team". AP.
  17. ^ "Miami's Bill Miller Chosen As All-American". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. December 8, 1961. p. 36.
  18. ^ "Stephens Unanimous Choice on Big Ten". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 28, 1961.
  19. ^ "Saimes and MacRae Selected on All-Big Ten Football Team". The Holland, Michigan, Evening Sentinel. November 29, 1961. p. 16.
  20. ^ Ted Gangi (ed.). "FWAA All-America Since 1944: The All-Time Team" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  21. ^ a b "OSU's Bob Ferguson Heads All-Big Ten Football Team". Battle Creek Enquirer and News. November 28, 1961. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
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