1961 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1961 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 30–15 vs. Georgia Tech
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 17
1961 record	8–3
Head coach	Rip Engle (12th season)
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium (Capacity: 46,284)
Seasons

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
Pacific			–					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 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1961 NCAA University Division football season. The team was coached by Rip Engle and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result
September 23	Navy	No. 7	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	W 20–10
September 29	at Miami (FL)	No. 8	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	L 8–25
October 6	at Boston University		Nickerson Field Boston, MA	W 32–0
October 14	Army		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	L 6–10
October 21	Syracuse		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	W 14–0
October 28	California		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	W 33–16
November 4	at Maryland		Byrd Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry)	L 17–21
November 11	at West Virginia		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	W 20–6
November 18	Holy Cross		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	W 34–14
November 25	at Pittsburgh		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	W 47–26
December 30	vs. Georgia Tech		Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	W 30–15
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game