1961 Kansas Jayhawks football team

1961 Kansas Jayhawks football
Bluebonnet Bowl champion
Bluebonnet Bowl, W 33–7 vs. Rice
Conference	Big 8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 15
1961 record	7–3–1 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach	Jack Mitchell (4th season)
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 35,000)
Seasons

1961 Big 8 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#7 Colorado	7	–	0	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
#11 Missouri	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	1
Kansas	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	1
Oklahoma	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Iowa State	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Oklahoma State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Nebraska	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	6	–	1
Kansas State	0	–	7	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1961 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the 1961 college football season. The Jayhawks offense scored 269 points while the defense allowed 88 points. Led by head coach Jack Mitchell, the Jayhawks competed in the Bluebonnet Bowl. Quarterback John Hadl received votes to win the Heisman, including 33 first place votes, becoming the first Jayhawk to receive Heisman Trophy votes, finishing 7th in the voting.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 23	at TCU*	No. 8	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, Texas		L 16–17	27,000
September 30	Wyoming*		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, Kansas		T 6–6	33,000
October 7	at Colorado		Folsom Field Boulder, Colorado		L 19–20	42,700
October 14	Iowa State		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, Kansas		W 21–7	32,176
October 21	at Oklahoma		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, Oklahoma		W 10–0	54,794
October 28	Oklahoma State		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, Kansas		W 42–8	25,000
November 4	at Nebraska		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska		W 28–6	32,450
November 11	Kansas State		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, Kansas (Sunflower Showdown)		W 34–0	34,000
November 18	at California*		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, California		W 53–7	30,000
November 25	Missouri	No. 10	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, Kansas (Border War)		L 7–10	40,500
December 17	vs. Rice*		Rice Stadium Houston (Bluebonnet Bowl)	CBS	W 33–7	52,000
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

1962 NFL Draft

Player	Round	Pick	Position	Club
John Hadl	1	10	Quarterback	Detroit Lions
Bert Coan	7	85	Running back	Washington Redskins
Roger McFarland	20	274	Back	San Francisco 49ers

Awards and honors

• John Hadl, All-America selection
• Curtis McClinton, All-America selection