| 1961 Duke Blue Devils football | |
|---|---|
 Team portrait from 1962 Chanticleer | |
ACC champion | |
| Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 14 |
| AP | No. 20 |
| Record | 7–3 (5–1 ACC) |
| Head coach |
|
| MVP | Dean Wright |
| Captain | Jack Wilson |
| Home stadium | Duke Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 Duke $ | 5 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Carolina | 4 | – | 3 | 5 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland | 3 | – | 3 | 7 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 3 | – | 3 | 5 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NC State | 3 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Carolina | 3 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wake Forest | 3 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Virginia | 2 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1961 Duke Blue Devils football team was an American football team that represented Duke University as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1961 college football season. In their eleventh year under head coach Bill Murray, the Blue Devils compiled a 7–3 record (5–1 in conference games), won the ACC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 183 to 106. In non-conference games, they defeated Navy and Notre Dame but lost to Georgia Tech and Michigan.[2] They were ranked No. 14 in the final UPI coaches poll and No. 20 in the final AP writers poll.[3]
The Blue Devils led the ACC in total defense, giving up 224.1 yards per game, and also led the conference in passing offense with 140.9 passing yards per game. Quarterback Walt Rappold led the team in passing (54-for-96 for 830 yards), and halfback Mark Leggett led the team in rushing (318 yards on 86 carries).[4] Tackle Art Gregory and guard Jean Berry were consensus first-team picks on the 1961 All-Atlantic Coast Conference football team.
Duke played its home games at Duke Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.
- ^ "1961 Atlantic Coast Conference Year Summary". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
- ^ "1961 Duke Blue Devils". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ Joe Sargis (December 5, 1961). "UPI Puts Bama 1st; Duke 14th". The Herald-Sun. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1961 Duke Blue Devils Stats". SR College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 22, 2024.