# 1961 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

The 1961 Iowa Hawkeyes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Iowa in the 1961 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first year under head coach Jerry Burns, the Hawkeyes compiled a 5–4 record (2–4 in conference game), tied for seventh place in the Big Ten Conference, and outscored opponents by a total of 215 to 162. The team was ranked No. 1 in the AP poll at the start of the season but dropped out of the polls after losing four consecutive games.
Senior tackle Al Hinton was selected as the team's most valuable player, and senior center Bill Van Buren was selected as a first-team All-American. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Matt Szykowny (1,078 passing yards), fullback Bill Perkins (380 rushing yards), end Cloyd Webb (426 receiving yards), and fullback Joe Williams (54 points scored).
The team played its home games at Iowa Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 30 | California* | No. 1 | Iowa StadiumIowa City, IA | | W 28–7 | 56,000 |
| October 7 | at USC* | No. 1 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | ABC | W 35–34 | 30,263 |
| October 14 | Indiana | No. 2 | Iowa StadiumIowa City, IA | | W 27–8 | 56,000 |
| October 21 | Wisconsin | No. 4 | Iowa StadiumIowa City, IA (rivalry) | | W 47–15 | 60,150 |
| October 28 | at Purdue | No. 5 | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | | L 0–9 | 35,000 (attending), 50,127 (tickets sold) |
| November 4 | at No. 5 Ohio State | No. 9 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | | L 13–29 | 83,795 |
| November 11 | No. 5 Minnesota | | Iowa StadiumIowa City, IA (rivalry) | ABC | L 9–16 | 67,081 |
| November 18 | at Michigan | | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI | | L 14–23 | 61,925 |
| November 25 | Notre Dame* | | Iowa StadiumIowa City, IA | | W 42–21 | 58,000 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Final |
| AP | 1 (22) | 1 (19) | 1 (24) | 2 (11) | 4 (2) | 5 (1) | 9 | RV | — | — | — | — |
| Coaches | | | | | 6 | 5 | | | | | | — |

## Game summaries
### At Ohio State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| • Buckeyes | 6 | 6 | 0 | 17 | 29 |

## Statistics

The 1961 Iowa Hawkeyes tallied 2,828 yards of total offense (314.2 yards per game), consisting of 1,509 rushing yards and 1,319 passing yards. On defense, they held opponents to 2,251 yards with 1,493 rushing yards and 858 passing yards.
Matt Szykowny replaced Wilburn Hollis at quarterback in the third game of the season, following an injury to Hollis. Szykowny completed 79 of 120 passes for 1,078 yards, seven touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Before being lost to injury, Hollis completed six of 15 passes for 130 yards; Hollis also gained 187 rushing yards on 35 carries for a 5.3-yard average.
Halfback Larry Ferguson, a first-team All-American in 1960, was expected to be Iowa's lead back for 1961, but he was injured in the opening minutes of the season's first game, ending his season with 35 yards gained on only three carries. In Ferguson's absence, Iowa's rushing leaders were junior fullback Bill Perkins (380 yards, 62 carries, 6.1-yard average), fullback Joe Williams (297 yards, 64 carries, 4.6-yard average), Sammie Harris (267 rushing yards, 76 carries, 3.5-yard average), and Paul Krause (208 yards, 33 carries, 4.7-yard average).
Sophomore end Cloyd Webb led the team in receiving with 25 catches for 426 yards and four touchdowns. Iowa's other leading receivers were Bill Whisler (18 receptions, 244 yards) and Felton Rogers (12 receptions, 121 yards).
Joe Williams tallied 54 points on nine touchdowns and was the second highest scorer in the Big Ten. Iowa's other leading scorerrs were Matt Szykowny (46 points) and Cloyd Webb (24 points).

## Awards

Bill Van Buren was selected by both the Sporting News and the Central Press as the first-team center on the 1961 All-America college football team.
Sherwyn Thorson was selected by the Associated Press as a second-team guard on the 1961 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
Senior tackle Al Hinton from Saginaw, Michigan, was selected as the most valuable player on the 1961 Iowa team.
Guard Sherwyn Thorson was selected by the AP as a second-tem player on the 1961 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
Bill Van Buren and Wilburn Hollis were the team captains.

## Personnel
### Players

The following 31 players received major letters for their participation on the 1961 Iowa team:
* Kevin Barbera, end, senior
* John Calhoun (#25), quarterback, junior, 6'2", 176 pounds
* Bill Cervenak (#96), end, senior, 6'4", 220 pounds
* Bill DiCindio (#64), tackle, senior, 6'1", 205 pounds
* Sammie Harris (#11), halfback, junior, 6'0", 181 pounds
* Jim Helgens (#90), end, sophomore, 6'2", 190 pounds
* Wally Hilgenberg (#67), guard, sophomore, 6'2", 215 pounds
* Al Hinton (#71), tackle, senior, 6'1", 217 pounds
* Wilburn Hollis (#20), quarterback, senior, 6'2", 200 pounds
* Gus Kasapis (#77), tackle, sophomore, 6'3", 235 pounds
* Paul Krause (#16), halfback, sophomore, 6'3", 177 pounds
* George Latta (#78), tackle, sophomore, 6'1", 220 pounds
* Lynn Lyon (#88), end, junior, 6'5", 194 pounds
* Earl McQuiston (#65), guard, junior, 6'2", 221 pounds
* Bill Perkins (#82), fullback/end, junior, 6'2", 197 pounds
* Dayton Perry Jr. (#52), center, junior, 6'1", 212 pounds
* Emery Pudder (#73), tackle, senior, 6'2", 206 pounds
* Mike Reilly (#61), guard, sophomore, 6'2", 200 pounds
* Felton Rogers (#89), end, junior, 6'4", 184 pounds
* Lonnie Rogers (#44), halfback, sophomore, 5'11", 185 pounds
* Matt Szykowny (#22), quarterback, junior, 6'1", 182 pounds
* Sherwyn Thorson (#66), guard, senior, 6'0", 210 pounds
* Dick Turici, fullback (#34), junior, 6'0", 195 pounds
* Bill Van Buren (#50), center, senior, 6'3", 210 pounds
* Dave Watkins, end, senior, 200 pounds
* Cloyd Webb (#85), end, sophomore, 6'3", 190 pounds
* Bill Whisler (#81), end, senior, 6'2", 219 pounds
* Jerry Williams (#60), guard, senior, 6'0", 180 pounds
* Joe Williams (#30), fullback, junior, 5'10", 191 pounds
* Bernie Wyatt (#45), halfback, senior, 5'10", 164 pounds
* Bob Yauck (#70), tackle, senior, 5'11", 219 pounds

### Coaches

* Jerry Burns - head coach
* Jerry Hilgenberg - assistant coach, defense (brother of Wally Hilgenberg)
* Archie Kodros - assistant coach, scout
* Whitey Piro - assistant coach, scout
* Tom Moore – graduate assistant

## 1962 NFL draft

| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Larry Ferguson | Back | 4 | 52 | Detroit Lions |
| Sherwyn Thorson | Guard | 7 | 87 | Los Angeles Rams |
| Wilburn Hollis | Quarterback | 9 | 118 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Bill Whisler | End | 13 | 169 | Washington Redskins |