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1961 Syracuse Orangemen football
Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 15–14 vs. Miami (FL)
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 14
Record8–3
Head coach
Captain Dick Easterly [1]
Home stadium Archbold Stadium
Seasons
←  1960
1962 →
1961 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 15 Rutgers     9 0 0
No. 17 Arizona     8 1 1
Memphis State     8 2 0
Villanova     8 2 0
No. 17 Penn State     8 3 0
No. 14 Syracuse     8 3 0
Holy Cross     7 3 0
Navy     7 3 0
Miami (FL)     7 4 0
Army     6 4 0
San Jose State     6 4 0
Xavier     6 4 0
Colgate     5 4 0
Detroit     5 4 0
Houston     5 4 1
Notre Dame     5 5 0
Oregon State     5 5 0
Florida State     4 5 1
Boston University     4 5 0
Boston College     4 6 0
Oregon     4 6 0
Air Force     3 7 0
Pittsburgh     3 7 0
Washington State     3 7 0
Idaho     2 7 0
Dayton     2 8 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1961 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University during the 1961 NCAA University Division football season. The Orangemen were led by 13th-year head coach Ben Schwartzwalder and played their home games at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, New York. Syracuse finished the regular season with a record of 7–3 and ranked 14th in the final AP Poll. Running back Ernie Davis rushed for 823 yards and 12 touchdowns en route to his second straight consensus All-American honors. Davis became the first African-American football player to win the Heisman Trophy, which is awarded to the nation's best college football player each year. Syracuse was invited to the 1961 Liberty Bowl, where they defeated Miami (FL).

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 23at Oregon StateNo. 10W 19–835,729
September 30 West VirginiaNo. 5W 29–1425,000 [2]
October 7at MarylandNo. 7L 21–2235,000 [3]
October 14at NebraskaW 28–635,387
October 21at Penn StateL 0–1444,390
October 28 Holy Cross
  • Archbold Stadium
  • Syracuse, NY
W 34–631,000 [4]
November 4 Pittsburgh
  • Archbold Stadium
  • Syracuse, NY ( rivalry)
W 28–940,152
November 11 Colgate
  • Archbold Stadium
  • Syracuse, NY ( rivalry)
W 51–825,000 [5]
November 18at Notre DameNo. 10L 15–1749,246
November 25at Boston CollegeW 28–1317,600
December 16vs. Miami (FL)No. 14W 15–1415,712
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1]

1961 team players in the NFL draft

Player Round Pick Position Club
Ernie Davis 1 1 Running back Washington Redskins
Pete Brokaw 8 107 Back Baltimore Colts
George Francovitch 10 131 Guard St. Louis Cardinals
Gary Fallon 12 157 Halfback Minnesota Vikings
Dick Easterly 14 190 Back San Francisco 49ers
Bob Stem 19 265 Center New York Giants

[6]

Ernie Davis was the first black player to be chosen first overall in the NFL Draft. [7] [8] Davis was drafted by the Washington Redskins then traded to the Clevand Browns in the first round of the 1962 American Football League draft. [9] [10] However, he never played in the NFL; he was diagnosed with leukemia shortly before he was to enter the league, and he died in May 1963, less than a year after his diagnosis.

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ a b "2017 Syracuse football media guide" (PDF).. pg. 148
  2. ^ "SU takes to the air". Sunday Press. October 1, 1961. Retrieved January 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Maryland nips Orange". Sunday Call-Chronicle. October 8, 1961. Retrieved January 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Syracuse Crushes H.C., 34-6". The Boston Globe. October 29, 1961. p. 63 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Werden, Lincoln A. (November 12, 1961). "Syracuse Routs Colgate, 51 to 8". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  6. ^ "Reference at www.pro-football-reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  7. ^ "Washington Picks 1st Negro on Team". Petaluma Argus-Courier. AP. December 4, 1961. p. 4. Retrieved December 18, 2020. Open access icon
  8. ^ Sports Illustrated, October 13, 2008, p.24
  9. ^ "Ernie Davis Joins Cleveland Browns". Syracuse Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York. December 23, 1961. p. 9. Retrieved December 18, 2020. Open access icon
  10. ^ Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.564, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN  978-1-55022-797-0
  11. ^ "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on September 16, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2007.