1961 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

1961 North Carolina Tar Heels football
1961 team portrait from The Yackety Yack yearbook
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Record5–5 (4–3 ACC)
Head coach
CaptainBob Elliott, Jim LeCompte
Home stadiumKenan Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1960
1962 →
1961 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
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  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The 1961 North Carolina Tar Heels football team was an American football team that represented the University of North Carolina (now known as University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1961 college football season. In their third year under head coach Jim Hickey, the Tar Heels compiled a 5–5 record (4–3 in conference games), finished second in the ACC, and were outscored by a total of 141 to 121.[2]

Quarterback Ray Farris broke North Carolina single-season records for passes attempted and completed and became the third player in ACC history to complete two years with 1,000 yards of total offense. Gib Carson led the team, and ranked second in the ACC, with 406 rushing yards and also ranked second in the ACC with 311 yards on kick returns.

The team played its home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

  1. ^ "1961 Atlantic Coast Conference Year Summary". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  2. ^ "1961 North Carolina Tar Heels Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 9, 2024.