FEATURED GAME
Beat Wisconsin
47
vs
15
Kept the Heartland Trophy — won by 32
Football History
Season Snapshot 1961 at a glance
1961 Iowa Football
5-4
Overall
2-4
Big Ten
Jerry Burns
Head coach
By the Numbers
Power rating
+14.9
Simple Rating System — #11 nationally
Memorable Games
Highest score
47
vs Wisconsin on Oct 21
Best defensive game
held them to 7
vs California (28-7)
Closest game
1-point win
vs USC (35-34)
Biggest win
by 32
vs Wisconsin (47-15)
Rankings & Streaks
Longest win streak
4
consecutive wins during the season
Home record
4-1
at Carver / Kinnick / home court
Road record
1-3
true road games (excludes neutral sites)
Season Defining Games ranked wins, overtime battles, and heartbreakers
Signature Wins
BLOWOUT WIN
Beat California
28
vs
7
Wire-to-wire control — won by 21
BLOWOUT WIN
Beat Notre Dame
42
vs
21
Wire-to-wire control — won by 21
BIG WIN
Beat Indiana
27
vs
8
Won by 19
Heartbreakers & Tough Tests
VS FLOYD OF ROSEDALE
Faced Minnesota
9
vs
16
Trophy game came up just short
VS A TOP TEAM
Faced #5 Ohio State
13
vs
29
Tough matchup against #5
Compare This Team
See how the 1961 Hawkeyes stack up against another Iowa season.
1961 Schedule 9 games
| Date | Opponent | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30 | Home California | 28–7 | W |
| Oct 7 | Away USC | 35–34 | W |
| Oct 14 | Home Indiana | 27–8 | W |
| Oct 21 | Home Wisconsin | 47–15 | W |
| Oct 28 | Away Purdue | 0–9 | L |
| Nov 4 | Away (5) Ohio State | 13–29 | L |
| Nov 11 | Home (5) Minnesota | 9–16 | L |
| Nov 18 | Away Michigan | 14–23 | L |
| Nov 25 | Home Notre Dame | 42–21 | W |
Team & Player Stats
Per-Game Averages
Points per game
23.9
vs
18.0
Iowa scored versus Iowa allowed per game.
+5.9 points per game
Total yards
—
vs
—
How many yards Iowa moved the ball, versus how many they let the other team move.
Pass yards
146.6
vs
95.3
Yards from passing per game — Iowa versus opponents.
+51.3 difference per game
Rush yards
167.7
vs
165.9
Yards on the ground per game — Iowa versus opponents.
+1.8 difference per game
First downs
—
vs
—
A first down means a fresh set of four tries — earning more is good.
Turnovers
—
vs
—
Times Iowa lost the ball (lower is better) versus times the defense took it back (higher is better).
Top Performers
Team Stats per Game
Stat
Offense
Defense
Diff
Pass Cmp
10.4
6.6
+3.8
Pass Att
19.1
17.1
+2.0
Pass Cmp %
54.7
38.3
+16.4
Pass Yds
146.6
95.3
+51.3
Pass TD
1.0
0.9
+0.1
Rush Att
44.7
46.6
-1.9
Rush Yds
167.7
165.9
+1.8
Rush Y/A
3.8
3.6
+0.2
Rush TD
2.2
1.2
+1.0
Plays
—
—
—
Total Yds
—
—
—
Yds/Play
—
—
—
1st Downs
—
—
—
Penalties
—
—
—
Penalty Yds
—
—
—
Fumbles
—
—
—
Interceptions
—
—
—
Turnovers
—
—
—
Player Stats
Passing
| Player | G | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Y/A | AY/A | Y/C | Y/G | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt SzykownyQB | 9 | 79 | 139 | 56.8 | 1,078 | 7 | 15 | 7.8 | 3.9 | 13.6 | 119.8 | 117.0 |
| Wilburn HollisQB | 9 | 6 | 15 | 40.0 | 130 | 2 | 1 | 8.7 | 8.3 | 21.7 | 14.4 | 143.5 |
| Ron BrocavichQB | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | -9.0 | — | 0.0 | -40.0 |
Rushing & Receiving
| Player | G | Rushing | Receiving | Scrimmage | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Y/A | TD | Y/G | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Y/G | Plays | Yds | TD | ||
| Joe WilliamsRB | 9 | 64 | 297 | 4.6 | 5 | 33.0 | 7 | 138 | 19.7 | 3 | 15.3 | 71 | 435 | 8 |
| Cloyd WebbWR | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 25 | 425 | 17.0 | 4 | 47.2 | 25 | 425 | 4 |
| Bill PerkinsRB | 9 | 62 | 380 | 6.1 | 2 | 42.2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 62 | 380 | 2 |
| Sammie HarrisRB | 9 | 76 | 267 | 3.5 | 1 | 29.7 | 6 | 111 | 18.5 | 1 | 12.3 | 82 | 378 | 2 |
| Paul KrauseRB | 9 | 44 | 208 | 4.7 | 1 | 23.1 | 7 | 62 | 8.9 | 0 | 6.9 | 51 | 270 | 1 |
| Bill WhislerWR | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 18 | 244 | 13.6 | 1 | 27.1 | 18 | 244 | 1 |
| Wilburn HollisQB | 9 | 35 | 187 | 5.3 | 3 | 20.8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 35 | 187 | 3 |
| Felton RogersWR | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 12 | 171 | 14.3 | 0 | 19.0 | 12 | 171 | 0 |
| Lonnie RogersRB | 9 | 22 | 58 | 2.6 | 1 | 6.4 | 3 | 24 | 8.0 | 0 | 2.7 | 25 | 82 | 1 |
| Bernie WyattRB | 9 | 19 | 72 | 3.8 | 1 | 8.0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 19 | 72 | 1 |
| Dick TuriciRB | 9 | 14 | 56 | 4.0 | 1 | 6.2 | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 15 | 65 | 1 |
| Bob LeZotteRB | 9 | 5 | 36 | 7.2 | 0 | 4.0 | 2 | 23 | 11.5 | 0 | 2.6 | 7 | 59 | 0 |
| Bill NiedbalaWR | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 48 | 16.0 | 0 | 5.3 | 3 | 48 | 0 |
| Larry FergusonDB | 9 | 3 | 35 | 11.7 | 0 | 3.9 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 35 | 0 |
| Lynn LyonWR | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 27 | 6.8 | 0 | 3.0 | 4 | 27 | 0 |
| Mike McDonaldRB | 9 | 6 | 23 | 3.8 | 1 | 2.6 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 23 | 1 |
| Bob ShermanDB | 9 | 2 | 20 | 10.0 | 0 | 2.2 | 2 | -15 | -7.5 | 0 | -1.7 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| Dick DoughertyDB | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Ron BrocavichQB | 9 | 7 | -9 | -1.3 | 0 | -1.0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 7 | -9 | 0 |
| Matt SzykownyQB | 9 | 40 | -122 | -3.1 | 4 | -13.6 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 40 | -122 | 4 |
Scoring
| Player | G | Rush | Rec | PR | KR | Int | FR | Oth | TD | XPM | XPA | FGM | FGA | 2PM | Sfty | Pts | Pts/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe WilliamsRB | 9 | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 48 | 5.3 |
| Cloyd WebbWR | 9 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 2.7 |
| Matt SzykownyQB | 9 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 2.7 |
| Wilburn HollisQB | 9 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 2.0 |
| Bill PerkinsRB | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1.3 |
| Sammie HarrisRB | 9 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1.3 |
| Lonnie RogersRB | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0.7 |
| Bill WhislerWR | 9 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0.7 |
| Dick TuriciRB | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0.7 |
| Bernie WyattRB | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0.7 |
| Mike McDonaldRB | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0.7 |
| Paul KrauseRB | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0.7 |
Game Logs
| Date | Opp | Rslt | Passing | Rushing | Total | Penalties | TO | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | Rate | Att | Yds | TD | Plays | Yds | Y/P | No | Yds | FL | Int | TO | |||
| Sep 30 | California | W 28–7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 7 | @ USC | W 35–34 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 14 | Indiana | W 27–8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 21 | Wisconsin | W 47–15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 28 | @ Purdue | L 0–9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 4 | @ Ohio State | L 13–29 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 11 | Minnesota | L 9–16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 18 | @ Michigan | L 14–23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 25 | Notre Dame | W 42–21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1961 Roster 20 players
| Player | Class | Pos | Season summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Sherman | — | DB | |
| Dick Dougherty | — | DB | |
| Larry Ferguson | — | DB | |
| Matt Szykowny | — | QB | 79 Cmp, 139 Att, 1078 Yds, 7 TD |
| Ron Brocavich | — | QB | 0 Cmp, 5 Att, 0 Yds, 0 TD |
| Wilburn Hollis | — | QB | 6 Cmp, 15 Att, 130 Yds, 2 TD |
| Bernie Wyatt | — | RB | 19 Att, 72 Yds, 3.8 Avg |
| Bill Perkins | — | RB | 62 Att, 380 Yds, 6.1 Avg |
| Bob LeZotte | — | RB | 5 Att, 36 Yds, 7.2 Avg |
| Dick Turici | — | RB | 14 Att, 56 Yds, 4.0 Avg |
| Joe Williams | — | RB | 64 Att, 297 Yds, 4.6 Avg |
| Lonnie Rogers | — | RB | 22 Att, 58 Yds, 2.6 Avg |
| Mike McDonald | — | RB | 6 Att, 23 Yds, 3.8 Avg |
| Paul Krause | — | RB | 44 Att, 208 Yds, 4.7 Avg |
| Sammie Harris | — | RB | 76 Att, 267 Yds, 3.5 Avg |
| Bill Niedbala | — | WR | 3 Rec, 48 Yds, 16.0 Avg |
| Bill Whisler | — | WR | 18 Rec, 244 Yds, 13.6 Avg |
| Cloyd Webb | — | WR | 25 Rec, 425 Yds, 17.0 Avg |
| Felton Rogers | — | WR | 12 Rec, 171 Yds, 14.3 Avg |
| Lynn Lyon | — | WR | 4 Rec, 27 Yds, 6.8 Avg |
1961 AP Poll Movement
AP Poll
Season
NR
Final Ranking
Season Summary
- Highest Rank
- #1
- Lowest Rank
- #9
- Weeks in Poll
- 7
- Total Weeks
- 10
Week-by-week rankings
Pre
#1
9/25
#1
10/2
#1
10/9
#2
10/16
#4
10/23
#5
10/30
#9
11/6
NR
11/13
NR
11/20
NR
History Library
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Updated Jun 1, 5:30 AM