1961 Colorado Buffaloes football | |
---|---|
Big 8 champion | |
Orange Bowl, L 7–25 vs. LSU | |
Conference | Big Eight Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 7 |
AP | No. 7 |
Record | 9–2 (7–0 Big 8) |
Head coach |
|
Captain | Joe Romig |
Home stadium | Folsom Field |
1961 Big Eight Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 7 Colorado $ | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 11 Missouri | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kansas | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oklahoma | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Iowa State | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oklahoma State | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nebraska | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kansas State | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The 1961 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder as a member of the Big Eight Conference during the 1961 NCAA University Division football season. Led by third-year head coach Sonny Grandelius, Colorado finished the regular season at 9–1 (7–0 in Big 8),[1][2] and played their home games on campus at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.
As in the previous year, Colorado defeated both Oklahoma and Nebraska; they did not defeat both in the same season again for 28 years. The Buffaloes won their first Big Eight title and were invited to the Orange Bowl in Miami, but lost 25–7 to fourth-ranked LSU on New Year's Day.
After the season, in March 1962, Grandelius was fired by the university regents for recruiting violations, primarily due to the operation of a slush fund for players and families.[3][4] Ten days later, alumni director Bud Davis was hired as the interim head coach;[5][6][7][8][9] he had no collegiate coaching experience, just five years as a high school head coach.[5][7][8] A month later, the NCAA put the CU football program on probation for two years; because the university began the investigation and took action, the penalties were relatively light.[10][11][12]
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 30 | Oklahoma State | W 24–0 | 40,000 | ||||
October 7 | Kansas |
| W 20–19 | 42,700 | |||
October 13 | at Miami (FL)* | W 9–7 | 40,393 | ||||
October 21 | at Kansas State | No. 9 | W 13–0 | 12,500 | |||
October 28 | at Oklahoma | No. 10 | W 22–14 | 45,117 | |||
November 4 | No. 10 Missouri | No. 8 |
| W 7–6 | 43,000 | ||
November 11 | Utah* | No. 8 |
| L 12–21 | 25,000 | ||
November 18 | at Nebraska | No. 8 | W 7–0 | 28,108 | |||
November 25 | Iowa State | No. 7 |
| W 34–0 | 30,399 | ||
December 2 | Air Force* | No. 7 |
| W 29–12 | 23,287 | [13] | |
January 1, 1962 | vs. No. 4 LSU* | No. 7 |
| ABC | L 7–25 | 62,391 | [14][15][16] |
|