1961 Purdue Boilermakers football team

1961 Purdue Boilermakers football
Co-captains Jack Elwell (left, kneeling) and Stan Sczurek (right, standing)
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
APNo. 12
Record6–3 (4–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPJack Elwell
CaptainJack Elwell, Stan Sczurek
Home stadiumRoss–Ade 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 Purdue Boilermakers football team was an American football team that represented Purdue University during the 1961 Big Ten Conference football season. In their sixth year under head coach Jack Mollenkopf, the Boilermakers compiled a 6–3 record (4–2 in conference games), finished fourth in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 146 to 87.[1] They were ranked No. 11 in the final UPI poll and No. 12 in the final AP poll.

Purdue won games against two ranked opponents (No. 5 Iowa and No. 6 Michigan State), and its three losses were to Notre Dame, Michigan and No. 5 Minnesota, each by a margin of two or three points.[1]

End Jack Elwell and guard Stan Sczurek were the team's co-captains and the only Purdue players to receive first-team honors on the 1961 All-Big Ten Conference football team. Fullback Roy Walker led the team in both rushing (491 yards) and scoring (24 points).

The team played its home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

  1. ^ a b "1961 Purdue Boilermakers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 20, 2024.