1961 Ohio State Buckeyes football
FWAA Poll national champion
Big Ten champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
Record8–0–1 (6–0 Big Ten)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorWilliam Gunlock
Captains
  • Mike Ingram
  • Tom Perdue
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
(Capacity: 79,727)
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 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1961 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled an 8–0–1 record and finished No. 2 in the final AP and UPI/Coaches' Polls. They were awarded the national championship by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). This was the Buckeyes fourth national championship and the third for head coach Woody Hayes. The Alabama Crimson Tide was voted national champions by the AP and Coaches' Polls.

Days after the conclusion of the regular season, the university's faculty council voted down participation in the Rose Bowl,[1][2][3] which then went to No. 6 Minnesota, Big Ten runner-up.[4] A growing conflict between academics and athletics over Ohio State's reputation as a "football school" resulted in the faculty's decision to turn down an invitation to the Rose Bowl, resulting in much public protest and debate.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 301:30 p.m.TCU*No. 3
T 7–782,878
October 71:30 p.m.UCLA*No. 8
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 13–382,992
October 141:00 p.m.IllinoisNo. 7
W 44–082,374
October 21at NorthwesternNo. 7
W 10–043,259
October 28at WisconsinNo. 6
W 30–2158,411
November 41:30 p.m.No. 9 IowadaggerNo. 5
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 29–1383,795
November 11at IndianaNo. 3
W 16–727,108
November 181:30 p.m.Oregon*No. 3
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 22–1282,073
November 251:00 p.m.at MichiganNo. 2
W 50–2080,444
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Personnel

1961 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
C 53 Billy Joe Armstrong Jr
G 71 James Bearss So
HB, DB 12 Bob Bruney So
E 88 Charles Bryant Sr
OT 54 Dennis Carter So
FB, LB 32 Roger Detrick Sr
FB, LB 46 Bob Ferguson Sr
G 66 Charles Foreman Sr
G 69 Rod Foster Jr
FB 33 Dave Francis Jr
C 58 Dean Fronk So
HB 15 Tony Hall So
FB 35 Woody Hall So
HB 47 Gary Honsley Sr
G 62 Dennis Hullinger So
G, LB 64 Mike Ingram (C) Sr
G 65 Tom Jenkins So
HB, DB 21 Ken Johnson Jr
HB 45 William Jones So
HB 19 Bob Klein Jr
OT 61 Raymond Krstolic Jr
HB 48 Karl Kumler Jr
FB 17 Howard Lambert Sr
OT 70 Richard Laskoski Jr
QB 23 Robert Lister Sr
HB 43 Richard Mangiamelle Jr
QB 27 Larry Marmie So
E 91 Paul Martin Sr
E 80 Robert Middleton Jr
C 56 Richard Morgan So
QB 26 Bill Mrukowski Jr
QB 25 John Mummey Jr
E 90 Joseph Nourse So
E, DE 83 Ormonde Ricketts So
OT 75 Jack Roberts Sr
OT, DL 76 Daryl Sanders Jr
E 84 Keith Smith So
HB, LB 41 Matt Snell So
QB 24 Joe Sparma So
OT 72 Bernie Stanley So
HB 16 David Tingley Sr
E, PK 86 Dick Van Raaphorst So
C 50 Jerry Vanscoy Jr
OT, DL 73 Bob Vogel Jr
QB 23 Jack Wallace Sr
HB, DB 42 Paul Warfield So
E 82 George Wittmer Sr
C 51 Albert Zima Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
MG 55 Wayne Betz Jr
DL 34 Robert Butts Jr
DL 93 Dennis Clotz Sr
DL 77 Dan Connor Jr
DB 28 Bill Hess Jr
DB 49 Ron Houck Sr
MG 67 Dave Katterhenrich Jr
DT, PK 79 Charles Mamula So
MG 60 Wes Mirick So
MG, LB 68 Gary Moeller Jr
LB 63 Al Parker So
DE 87 Tom Perdue (C) Sr
DE 89 Elwood Rayford Jr
DT 78 George Tolford Sr
DE 85 Sam Tidmore Sr
DB 44 Ed Ulmer Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
PK 18 Stewart Baffer So
PK 20 Ben Jones Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
    Injured
  • Redshirt
    Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2016-Jan-01.

Game summaries

TCU

1 234Total
TCU 0 007 7
Ohio St 7 000 7
  • Date: September 30
  • Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
  • Game attendance: 82,878
  • Game weather: Sunny; 82 °F (28 °C); wind 20 mph
Scoring summary
Q17:05OHSTBryant 2 yard pass from Mrukowski (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 7–0
Q411:20TCUGlasscock 12 yard pass from Gibbs (McAteer kick)Tie 7–7

[5]

UCLA

1 234Total
UCLA 0 300 3
• Ohio St 0 0013 13
  • Date: October 7
  • Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
  • Game attendance: 82,992
  • Game weather: Sunny; 72 °F (22 °C); wind 5 mph ESE
Scoring summary
Q22:22UCLASmith 32 yard field goalUCLA 3–0
Q414:14OHSTWarfield 13 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 7–3
Q49:30OHSTSnell 33 yard run (kick failed)OHST 13–3

[6]

Illinois

1 234Total
Illinois 0 000 0
• Ohio St 0 21167 44
  • Date: October 14
  • Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
  • Game attendance: 82,974
  • Game weather: Cloudy; 48 °F (9 °C); wind 15 mph NNW
Scoring summary
Q213:03OHSTFerguson 2 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 7–0
Q210:43OHSTWarfield 36 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 14–0
Q2:09OHSTFerguson 2 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 21–0
Q39:08OHSTFerguson 3 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 28–0
Q37:53OHSTSafety, Mills tackled in end zoneOHST 30–0
Q33:09OHSTFerguson 1 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 37–0
Q48:10OHSTJohnson 11 yard pass from Mummey (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 44–0

[7]

Northwestern

1 234Total
• Ohio St 0 307 10
Northwestern 0 000 0
Scoring summary
Q214:50OHSTVan Raaphorst 24 yard field goalOHST 3–0
Q42:04OHSTMrukowski 20 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 10–0

[8]

Wisconsin

1 234Total
• Ohio St 7 1067 30
Wisconsin 0 1506 21
Scoring summary
Q15:55OHSTKatterhenrich 17 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 7–0
Q214:28OHSTVan Raaphorst 23 yard field goalOHST 10–0
Q29:57WISKroner 36 yard pass from Miller (Mckinney pass from Bakken)OHST 10–8
Q21:41OHSTKlein 8 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 17–8
Q2:01WISMiller 1 yard run (Bakken kick)OHST 17–15
Q33:23OHSTWarfield 5 yard run (pass failed)OHST 23–15
Q41:36OHSTWarfield 2 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 30–15
Q4:02WISRichter 7 yard pass from Miller (pass failed)OHST 30–21

[9]

Iowa

1 234Total
Iowa 0 076 13
• Ohio St 6 6017 29
  • Date: November 4
  • Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
  • Game attendance: 83,795
  • Game weather: Cloudy; 46 °F (8 °C); wind 5 mph E
Scoring summary
Q111:07OHSTPerdue 55 yard fumble return (kick failed)OHST 6–0
Q26:35OHSTBryant 18 yard pass from Sparma (kick failed)OHST 12–0
Q36:18IOWASzykowny 1 yard run (Szykowny kick)OHST 12–7
Q414:39OHSTBryant 62 yard pass from Sparma (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 19–7
Q48:04OHSTVan Raaphorst 24 yard field goalOHST 22–7
Q41:55OHSTFerguson 13 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 29–7
Q4:12IOWATurici 4 yard run (kick failed)OHST 29–13

See also: 1961 Iowa Hawkeyes football team


[10]

Indiana

1 234Total
• Ohio St 0 970 16
Indiana 0 700 7
Scoring summary
Q27:43OHSTVan Raaphorst 40 yard field goalOHST 3–0
Q25:11OHSTWarfield 5 yard pass from Sparma (kick failed)OHST 9–0
Q23:42INDOlsavsky 25 yard pass from Broome (George kick)OHST 9–7
Q33:42OHSTBryant 9 yard pass from Sparma (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 16-7

[11] [12]

Oregon

1 234Total
Oregon 0 606 12
• Ohio St 8 770 22
  • Date: November 18
  • Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
  • Game attendance: 82,073
  • Game weather: Sunny; 38 °F (3 °C); wind 9 mph NNW
Scoring summary
Q113:48OHSTKlein 72 yard run (Ferguson run)OHST 8–0
Q213:52OHSTFerguson 7 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 15–0
Q2:48OREBurleson 29 yard pass from Renfro (pass failed)OHST 15–6
Q39:09OHSTFerguson 6 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 22–6
Q44:39OREJosephson 2 yard run (pass failed))OHST 22–12

[13]

Michigan

1 234Total
• Ohio St 7 14029 50
Michigan 0 668 20
Scoring summary
Q13:26OHSTFerguson 12 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 7–0
Q211:04OHSTFerguson 1 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 14–0
Q210:49MICHRaimey 90 yard kickoff return (pass failed)OHST 14–6
Q29:04OHSTWarfield 69 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 21–6
Q37:36MICHMcLenna 1 yard run (pass failed)OHST 21–12
Q414:23OHSTFerguson 1 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 28–12
Q49:50OHSTKlein 80 yard pass from Sparma (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 35–12
Q44:45OHSTFerguson 1 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)OHST 42–12
Q4:34MICHWard 1 yard run (Ward run)OHST 42–20
Q4:05OHSTTidmore 10 yard pass from Sparma (Tidmore pass from Sparma)OHST 50–20

[14] [15]

Depth chart

[16]

Coaching staff

1962 Pro draftees

Player Draft Round Pick Position NFL Club
Bob Ferguson NFL 1 5 Fullback Pittsburgh Steelers
Bob Ferguson AFL 1 8 Fullback San Diego Chargers
Chuck Bryant NFL 3 34 End St. Louis Cardinals
Chuck Bryant AFL 13 104 End San Diego Chargers
Sam Tidmore NFL 6 81 Linebacker Cleveland Browns
Sam Tidmore AFL 20 156 Linebacker Buffalo Bills
John Havlicek NFL 7 95 End Cleveland Browns
Jack Roberts NFL 20 273 Tackle Chicago Bears
Mike Ingram AFL 31 246 Guard Boston Patriots

References

  1. ^ "Buckeyes finally lose, 28-25 in bowl debate". Toledo Blade. Ohio. Associated Press. November 29, 1961. p. 48.
  2. ^ "Ohio State's rejection of Rose Bowl bid trip triggers sharp comments". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. November 29, 1961. p. 60.
  3. ^ "Ohio State rejects chance to play in Rose Bowl game". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. November 29, 1961. p. 11.
  4. ^ Stevenson, Jack (December 3, 1961). "Minnesota accepts bid, plays Uclans in Rose tilt". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. p. D-1.
  5. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  6. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  7. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  8. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  9. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  10. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  11. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1961 Nov 12.
  12. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  13. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  14. ^ "Buckeyes Win Big 10 Title." Palm Beach Post. 1961 Nov 26.
  15. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  16. ^ 1962 Ohio State football media guide
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