1961 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
-
Date: September 30
-
Location: Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska
-
Game attendance: 34,721
|
-
Date: October 14
-
Location: Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska
-
Game attendance: 35,387
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Nebraska |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| • Missouri
|
0 |
0 |
3 |
7 |
10 |
|
|
1 |
2 |
Total |
| • Kansas
|
|
|
28 |
| Nebraska |
|
|
6 |
-
Date: November 4
-
Location: Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska
-
Game attendance: 32,450
|
-
Date: November 11
-
Location: Clyde Williams Field • Ames, Iowa
-
Game attendance: 12,971
|
The 1961 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska and member of the Big Eight Conference in the 1961 college football season. The team was coached by Bill Jennings and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Coach Jennings returned for a fifth year, with pressure mounting to put an end to the string of losing seasons that preceded his arrival. There were no changes to his assistant coaching staff for the first time in his tenure, providing a small amount of hope for enough consistency in coaching that might translate to success on the field. The schedule was favorable, with a home field Syracuse match as the only powerhouse nonconference foe on the slate, though it was those games that Jennings tended to win with an upset.
The Cornhuskers came out with a roar to open 1961, racking up 33 unanswered points without a serious challenge from the visiting Fighting Sioux. The overmatched North Dakota squad managed only five first downs all day, and suffered the first shutout dealt by Nebraska since a 16-0 blanking given to Kansas State in 1955. This was the only time these teams met on the field.
Nebraska and Arizona met for the first time in a closely fought battle. For every Cornhusker score, the Wildcats answered. No spectacular plays stood out on the day, just consistent production which was enough to hold on through most of the game. As the final seconds ticked away, Arizona landed on the Nebraska 27 yard line and scrambled to set up for a field goal, but time expired before they could run the play. The 14-14 final was Nebraska's first tie since a 21-21 split decision to Illinois in 1953.
The Cornhuskers rolled unchallenged over the Wildcats with a punishing ground attack. Newcomer HB Willie Ross scored the first touchdown of his career on a one-yard push, and then put in two more before the time expired. It was the first loss handed to Kansas State on the year. The shutout victory was Nebraska's third unbeaten game in a row, which had not happened since 1955, and was the first time the Cornhuskers had opened a season with three unbeaten games since 1952. Nebraska's historic domination of Kansas State now stood at 34-9-2.
Riding an early wave of success, and mindful of their pattern of good fortune when going into a game as a serious underdog, Nebraska welcomed Syracuse into Lincoln in a bid to upset one of the highest-ranked teams of the east. The Orangemen proved to be a formidable opponent, playing relatively error-free football so as to not hand the game over to the Cornhuskers. Two costly interceptions that were converted into touchdowns also hurt Nebraska, and Syracuse dealt the first defeat of the Cornhuskers season. It was the third win in a row for the Orangemen over Nebraska, as they improved to 6-4-0 in the series. Syracuse finished the season at #14 in the AP Poll.
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Wikipedia
