1961 USC Trojans football team

1961 USC Trojans football

Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
1961 record	4–5–1 (2–1–1 AAWU)
Head coach	John McKay (2nd year)
Captain	Britt Williams
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 123,538, grass)

1961 AAWU football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#16 UCLA $	3	–	1	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
USC	2	–	1	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
Washington	2	–	1	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
Stanford	1	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
California	1	–	3	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1961 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1961 college football season. In their second year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 4–5–1 record (2–1–1 against conference opponents), finished in a tie for second place in the Athletic Association of Western Universities, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 167 to 151.^[1]

Quarterback Bill Nelsen led the team in passing, completing 39 of 86 passes for 683 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions. Ben Wilson led the team in rushing, with 619 yards on 139 carries. Hal Bedsole was the team's leading receiver with 27 catches for 525 yards and six touchdowns.^[2] Bedsole was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

Schedule

Date	Opponent^#	Site	Result	Attendance
September 22	Georgia Tech*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA	L 7–27	32,928
September 29	SMU*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA	W 21–16	29,148
October 7	#1 Iowa*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA	L 34–35	30,263
October 14	at #8 Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Rivalry)	L 0–30	50,427
October 21	at California	California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA	W 28–14	38,000
October 28	Illinois*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA	W 14–10	28,694
November 4	at Washington	Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA	T 0–0	54,916
November 11	Stanford	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA	W 30–15	36,598
November 18	at Pittsburgh*	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA	L 9–10	34,820
November 25	UCLA	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA (Battle for the Victory Bell)	L 7–10	57,580
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll.

References

↑ "Southern California Yearly Results (1960-1964)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
↑ "1961 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.

USC Trojans football

Venues	Bovard Field (?–1922) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1923–present) Howard Jones Field (practice)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Notre Dame (Jeweled Shillelagh) UCLA (Victory Bell) Stanford

Culture & lore	Traveler George Tirebiter Giles Pellerin "Fight On" Spirit of Troy Student Body Right Tommy Trojan Athletics scandal 1967 "Game of the Century" "Bush Push" 2007 Stanford game

People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

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