1961 Chico State Wildcats football team

1961 Chico State Wildcats football
ConferenceFar Western Conference
Record4–6 (0–5 FWC)
Head coach
Home stadiumCollege Field
Seasons
← 1960
1962 →
1961 Far Western Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 13/16 Humboldt State + 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
San Francisco State + 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
UC Davis 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Nevada 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Sacramento State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Chico State 0 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from NAIA poll and UPI small college poll

The 1961 Chico State Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented Chico State College (now known as California State University, Chico) as a member of the Far Western Conference (FWC) during the 1961 college football season. In their fourth year under head coach George Maderos, the Wildcats compiled a 4–6 record (0–5 in conference games), finished last out of six teams in the FWC, and were outscored by a total of 226 to 162.[1]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Al Allison (803 passing yards), halfback/fullback Bill Morris (389 yards), and end Ed Burton (566 receiving yards, 44 points scored).[1] Mario Serafin received first-team all-conference honors as a linebacker and second-team honors as an offensive guard.

The team played its home games at College Field in Chico, California.

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 16Southern Oregon*
W 27–73,800[2]
September 23Pepperdine*
  • College Field
  • Chico, CA
W 27–163,850
September 30Pacific (OR)*
  • College Field
  • Chico, CA
W 20–173,700
October 7at Nevada
L 6–272,500
October 14at Linfield*
L 7–341,200[4]
October 21Sacramento State
  • College Field
  • Chico, CA
L 10–146,600
October 28at Santa Clara*
W 21–193,000
November 4Humboldt State
  • College Field
  • Chico, CA
L 12–295,000[5]
November 10at UC Davis
L 7–284,000
November 18San Francisco State
  • College Field
  • Chico, CA
L 25–425,000
  • *Non-conference game

[1]

Statistics

The Wildcats tallied 2,672 yards of total offense (267.2 per game), consisting of 1,608 rushing yards (160.8 per game) and 1,064 passing yards (106.4 per game). On defense, they gave up 3,269 yards (326.9 per game) including 2,393 rushing yards (239.3 per game) and 876 passing yards (87.6 per game).[1]

Quarterback Al Allison completed 54 of 139 passes for 803 yards with six touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also led the team with 777 yards of total offense (including negative 26 rushing yards).[1]

The team's leading rushers were halfback/fullback Bill Morris (389 yards, 93 carries, 4.18 yards per carry) and halfback Jess Castillo (365 yards, 69 carries, 5.29 yards per carry).[1]

End Ed Burton led the team in both receiving (40 receptions, 566 yards) nand scoring (44 points on five touchdowns, 11 extra point kicks, and a field goal).[1]

Awards and honors

Mario Serafin was selected as a first-team linebacker on the 1961 All-Far Western Conference football team. He was also selected as a second-team guard on the offensive team. Two others received second team honors: end Ed Burton (offense); and tackle Tom McKerras (defense).[6]

Notes

  1. ^ This stadium is the predecessor to the current Mackay Stadium, which was opened for the 1966 season.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Brief Summary Of Cumulative Football Statistics". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  2. ^ Eddie Booth (September 18, 1961). "Wildcats Throttle Red Raiders, 27-0". Enterprise-Record. pp. 4B, 5B – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Mackay Stadium". University of Nevada, Reno. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  4. ^ "Linfield Smacks Chico State '11'". The Oregon Statesman. October 15, 1961. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Don Terbush (November 6, 1961). "HSC Drubs Chico State; Homecoming Tilt Saturday". Eureka Humboldt Standard. Eureka, California. p. 21. Retrieved April 4, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  6. ^ "Name Six Humboldt Staters To All-FWC First Team". Humboldt Standard. December 2, 1961. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.