1961 San Diego State Aztecs football team

1961 San Diego State Aztecs football
1961 San Diego State Aztecs football
Conference	California Collegiate Athletic Association
Record	7–2–1 (2–2–1 CCAA)
Head coach	Don Coryell (1st season);
Home stadium	Aztec Bowl
	Seasons ← 1960 1962 →

1961 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 3/5 Fresno State $	5	–	0	–	0	10	–	0	–	0
Cal Poly	3	–	2	–	0	4	–	4	–	0
San Diego State	2	–	2	–	1	7	–	2	–	1
Los Angeles State	2	–	2	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
Long Beach State	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
UC Santa Barbara	0	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP/UPI small college polls

The 1961 San Diego State Aztecs football team was an American football team that represented San Diego State College (now known as San Diego State University^{[note 1]} as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) during the 1961 college football season. In their first year under head coach Don Coryell, the Aztecs compiled a 7–2–1 record (2–2–1 in conference games), tied for third place in the CCAA, and outscored opponents by a total of 231 to 154. This was a big turn-around from the previous year, when they had won just a single game.

The team played its home games at Aztec Bowl in San Diego.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 23	at Los Angeles State	L.A. State Stadium Los Angeles, CA	T 13–13	4,752	^[1]^[2]
September 30	Cal Poly	Aztec Bowl San Diego, CA	W 9–6	9,000	^[3]
October 7	Long Beach State	Aztec Bowl San Diego, CA	L 15–17	9,000	^[4]
October 14	at Redlands*	Redlands Stadium^{[note 2]} Redlands, CA	W 32–20	4,200	^[5]
October 21	UC Santa Barbara	Aztec Bowl San Diego, CA	W 21–6	8,500	^[6]
October 28	at No. 6 Fresno State	Ratcliffe Stadium Fresno, CA (rivalry)	L 6–27	9,000	^[7]
November 4	at Pepperdine*	Sentinel Field Inglewood, CA	W 21–6	9,000	^[8]
November 11	Cal Western*	Aztec Bowl San Diego, CA	W 54–34	7,500	^[9]
November 18	San Diego*	Aztec Bowl San Diego, CA	W 42–12	10,000	^[10]
November 27	San Diego Marines^{[note 3]}*	Aztec Bowl San Diego, CA	W 18–13	8,000	^[11]^[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[13]

Team awards

Award	Player
Most Valuable Player (John Simcox Memorial Trophy)	Kern Carson
Outstanding Offensive & Defensive Linemen (Byron H. Chase Memorial Trophy)	David Lay
Most Inspirational Player	Warren Simmons

^[14]

Notes

^ San Diego State University) was known as San Diego State College from 1935 to 1971.
^ This stadium is the predecessor to the current Ted Runner Stadium on the University of Redlands campus, which was opened for the 1968 season
^ The Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) in San Diego fielded a team that played against colleges and other military teams from 1922 to 1964.

References

^ Howard Hagen (September 24, 1961). "Aztecs, Diablos In 13-13 Tie". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. G-1.
^ "L.A. Staters Tied by S.D." Independent Star-News. Pasadena, California. September 24, 1961. p. A-6. Retrieved January 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Howard Hagen (October 1, 1961). "Aztecs' 85-Yard Punt Return Nips Poly, 9-6 In Last Minute". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. G-1.
^ Howard Hagen (October 8, 1961). "Long Beach St. Field Goal Hands Aztecs 17-15 Defeat". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. G-1.
^ Johnny McDonald (October 15, 1961). "Aztecs Rally Trips Redlands, 32-20". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. G-1.
^ Howard Hagen (October 22, 1961). "Aztecs Win, 21-6, As Sevier Shines". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. B-1.
^ Howard Hagen (October 29, 1961). "Fresno's Barrage Rips Aztecs". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. B-1.
^ Howard Hagen (November 5, 1961). "Fast Aztec Start Rips Waves". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. G-1.
^ Howard Hagen (November 12, 1961). "Aztecs Win, 54-34, Over Cal Western". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. G-1.
^ Howard Hagen (November 19, 1961). "Aztecs Maul USD, 42-12". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. G-1.
^ Howard Hagen (November 19, 1961). "Aztecs Whip MCRD". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. B-5.
^ "Military Glory: Service Teams, in Their Heyday, Won Championships, Thrilled the Fans". Retrieved January 5, 2017.
^ "1961 Football Schedule". San Diego State University Athletics. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
^ "San Diego State 2016 Football Media Guide". Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.

[1] San Diego State University) was known as San Diego State College from 1935 to 1971.

[6] This stadium is the predecessor to the current Ted Runner Stadium on the University of Redlands campus, which was opened for the 1968 season

[13] The Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) in San Diego fielded a team that played against colleges and other military teams from 1922 to 1964.

[2] Howard Hagen (September 24, 1961). "Aztecs, Diablos In 13-13 Tie". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. G-1.

[3] "L.A. Staters Tied by S.D." Independent Star-News. Pasadena, California. September 24, 1961. p. A-6. Retrieved January 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] Howard Hagen (October 1, 1961). "Aztecs' 85-Yard Punt Return Nips Poly, 9-6 In Last Minute". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. G-1.

[5] Howard Hagen (October 8, 1961). "Long Beach St. Field Goal Hands Aztecs 17-15 Defeat". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. G-1.

[7] Johnny McDonald (October 15, 1961). "Aztecs Rally Trips Redlands, 32-20". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. G-1.

[8] Howard Hagen (October 22, 1961). "Aztecs Win, 21-6, As Sevier Shines". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. B-1.

[9] Howard Hagen (October 29, 1961). "Fresno's Barrage Rips Aztecs". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. B-1.

[10] Howard Hagen (November 5, 1961). "Fast Aztec Start Rips Waves". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. G-1.

[11] Howard Hagen (November 12, 1961). "Aztecs Win, 54-34, Over Cal Western". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. G-1.

[12] Howard Hagen (November 19, 1961). "Aztecs Maul USD, 42-12". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. G-1.

[14] Howard Hagen (November 19, 1961). "Aztecs Whip MCRD". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. B-5.

[15] "Military Glory: Service Teams, in Their Heyday, Won Championships, Thrilled the Fans". Retrieved January 5, 2017.

[16] "1961 Football Schedule". San Diego State University Athletics. Retrieved August 22, 2023.

[Media_Guide-17] "San Diego State 2016 Football Media Guide". Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.

[note 1]

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[note 2]

[5]

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[note 3]

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v t e San Diego State Aztecs football
Venues	College Field / Aztec Field (1921, 1923–1925, 1927–1928, 1934–1935) Navy "Sports" Field (1922, 1926, 1929–1931, 1933–1934) Balboa Stadium (1921–1925, 1927–1929, 1932, 1934–1935, 1940–1941, 1945–1947, alternate in several other seasons) Aztec Bowl (1936–1942, 1947–1966) San Diego Stadium (1967–2019) Dignity Health Sports Park (2020–2021) Snapdragon Stadium (2022–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Fresno State NFL draftees
Seasons	1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

1961 San Diego State Aztecs football team

Schedule

Team awards

Notes

References

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