The 1961 Humboldt State Lumberjacks football team represented Humboldt State College during the 1961 NCAA College Division football season. Humboldt State competed in the Far Western Conference (FWC).^{[note 1]}

The 1961 Lumberjacks were led by head coach Phil Sarboe in his eleventh year at the helm. They played home games at the Redwood Bowl in Arcata, California. Humboldt State finished ranked #16 in the UPI small college poll. They were co-champion of the FWC with a record of eight wins and two losses (8–2, 4–1 FWC). The Lumberjacks outscored their opponents 239–112 for the season.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 23	Eastern Washington*		Redwood Bowl Arcata, CA	W 53–0	5,500	[1]
September 30	at Willamette*		McCulloch Stadium Salem, OR	W 27–13	4,500	[2]
October 7	at San Francisco State	No. 5 AP / 4 UPI	Cox Stadium San Francisco, CA	W 7–6	6,200	[3]
October 14	at Sacramento State	No. 2 AP / 6 UPI	Charles C. Hughes Stadium Sacramento, CA	L 7–19	6,000	[4]
October 21	UC Davis	No. 9 UPI	Redwood Bowl Arcata, CA	W 20–18	5,500	[5]
October 28	Oregon Tech*	No. 14 UPI	Redwood Bowl Arcata, CA	W 46–6	4,500	[6]
November 4	at Chico State	No. 15 UPI	College Field Chico, CA	W 29–12	5,000	[7]
November 11	Nevada	No. 16 UPI	Redwood Bowl Arcata, CA	W 16–14	7,500	[8]
November 18	Central Washington*	No. 17 UPI	Redwood Bowl Arcata, CA	W 34–14	5,000	[9]
November 23	Whitworth*	No. 16 UPI	Redwood Bowl Arcata, CA	L 0–10	3,500	[10]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP/UPI Poll released prior to the game

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