1961 Texas Longhorns football team

}} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} ==Game summaries==

Texas ranked fourth nationally in total offense, tallying 3,821 yards in ten regular-season games, an average of 383.1 yards per game. On defense, the Longhorns ranked seventh nationally, giving up 1,761 yards, an average of 176.1 yards per game. Texas had four of the top ten rushers in the Southwest Conference during the 1961 season. Jimmy Saxton led the conference with 846 yards on 107 carries for an average of 7.9 yards per carry. Jerry Cook ranked second in the conference with 527 yards on 96 carries (5.5-yard average). Tommy Ford ranked seventh with 415 yards on 83 carries (5.0-yard average). Ray Poage ranked ninth with 383 yards on 77 carries (5.1-yard average). Jimmy Saxton was also the team's total offense leader. Adding 46 passing yards to his 8846 rushing yards, he finished the regular season with 892 yards of total offense. Quarterback Mike Cotten led the Longhorns in passing, completing 44 of 77 passes (.574 completion percentage) for 500 yards with two interceptions and seven touchdown passes. End Bob Moses was the team's leading receiver, tallying 14 catches for 177 yards (12.6 yards per catch) and five touchdowns. ==Awards and honors==

Head coach Darrell Royal was selected by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) as the 1961 "Coach of the Year". Halfback Jimmy Saxton received numerous honors and awards following the 1961 season, including • Saxton was a consensus pick on the 1961 All-America college football team, having received first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI), American Football Coaches Association, and FWAA, • Saxton was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated on November 27, 1961, with the headline "Football's Fanciest Runner" • Saxton was voted by his teammates as the most valuable player on the 1961 Texas team. • Saxton was selected by the Texas Sports Writers Association as the top amateur athlete of 1961. • Saxton was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996. Tackle Don Talbert was selected by the FWAA as a first-team All-American. Six Texas players received first-team honors from the AP or the UPI on the 1961 All-Southwest Conference football team: Saxton (AP-1, UPI-1); Talbert (AP-1, UPI-1); quarterback Mike Cotten (AP-1, UPI-1); end Bob Moses (AP-1, UPI-1); guard Johnny Treadwell (AP-1, UPI-2); and center David Kristynik (UPI-1). Fullback Ray Poage received second-team honors from the UPI. Mike Cotten and Bob Moses were named the most valuable players of the Cotton Bowl. ==Personnel==

Players The following 37 players received varsity letters for their roles on the 1961 Texas team: • Scott Appleton (#70), tackle, sophomore • George Bass (#68), guard, sophomore • Clarence V. Bray (#53), sophomore • George Brucks (#66), guard, sophomore • Duke Carlisle (#11), quarterback, sophomore • Jack Collins (#49), wingback, senior, 195 pounds • Jerry Cook (#38), junior • John Allen Cook (#38), junior • Mike Cotten (#12), quarterback and co-captain, senior, 189 pounds • Pat Culpepper (#31), linebacker, junior • Staley Faulkner (#77), tackle, sophomore • Ken Ferguson (#78), tackle, sophomore • Tommy Ford (#24), sophomore, fullback, 185 pounds • Bobby Gamblin (#65), guard, sophomore • Johnny Genung (#14), quarterback, junior • Deene Gott (#87), end, senior • James Hejl, center, senior • Ben House (#83), end, sophomore • David Kristynik (#64), center, senior, 203 pounds • Marvin Kubin (#55), guard, junior, 198 pounds • Tommy Ray Lucas (#80), end, junior, 195 pounds • David McWilliams (#50), center/linebacker, sophomore • Perry McWilliams (#61), center, junior • Eldon Moritz (#23), kicking specialist, senior • Bob Moses (#88), end, senior, 195 pounds • Bobby Nunis (#36), wingback, junior • Derrell M. Oliver (#25), fullback, sophomore • Eddie Padgett (#74), tackle, senior, 205 pounds • Ray Poage (#33), fullback, junior, 201 pounds • Gordon Roberts (#76), tackle, sophomore • David Russell (#40), wingback, senior • Walter Cayce Sands (#85), end, sophomore • Jimmy Saxton (#10), halfback, senior, 5'11", 164 pounds • Charles Talbert (#89), end, sophomore • Don Talbert (#72), tackle and co-captain, senior, 220 pounds • Johnny Treadwell (#60), guard, junior, 200 pounds • Tommy York (#84), end, junior Coaches and administration • Head coach - Darrell Royal • Assistant coaches - James "T" Jones, Mike Campbell, Bill Ellington, Charles Shira, Bob Schulze, Jim Pittman, Russell Coffee • Athletic director - Edwin Werner Cole • Chairman, Athletic Council - Myron Louis Begeman • Trainer - Frank Edwin Medina Gallery File:Mike Cotten (1962 Cactus).png|Quarterback and captain Mike Cotten File:Don Talbert (1962 Cactus).png|All-American tackle and captain Don Talbert File:Bob Moses (1962 Cactus).png|All-SWC end Bob Moses File:David Kristynik.png|All-SWC center David Kristynik File:Johnny Treadwell (1962 Cactus).png|All-SWC guard Johnny Treadwell File:Ray Poage (1962 Cactus).png|All-SWC fullback Ray Poage File:Pat Culpepper (1962 Cactus).png|Linebacker Pat Culpepper File:Tommy Ford (1962 Cactus).png|Back Tommy Ford File:Ben House.png|End Ben House ==References==