1961 UC Davis Aggies football team

American college football season

1961 UC Davis Aggies football

Conference| Far Western Conference
Record| 5–4 (3–2 FWC)
Head coach|

* Will Lotter (6th season)

Captain| Carl Ehret
Home stadium| Aggie Field

Seasons

<- 1960

1962 ->

1961 Far Western Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf. |  |  | Overall

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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 UC Davis Aggies football team, also known as the "Cal Aggies", was an American football team that represented the University of California, Davis as a member of the Far Western Conference (FWC) during the 1961 college football season. In their sixth year under head coach Will Lotter, the Aggies compiled a 5–4 record (3–2 in conference games), finished third in the FWC, and outscored opponents by a total of 173 to 111.

The Aggies played home games at Aggie Field in Davis, California.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|

September 22| Santa Clara*|

* Aggie Field
* Davis, CA

| W 21–14| |
September 30| at Whittier*|

* Hadley Field
* Whittier, CA

| L 8–20| | [1]
October 7| UC Riverside*|

* Aggie Field
* Davis, CA

| W 40–12| 1,600–3,300| [2][3]
October 14| at Nevada|

* Mackay Stadium[note 1]
* Reno, NV

| W 36–12| 4,500| [5]
October 21| at Humboldt State|

* Redwood Bowl
* Arcata, CA

| L 18–20| 5,500| [6]
October 28| at San Francisco State|

* Cox Stadium
* San Francisco, CA

| L 8–13| 4,500| [7]
November 4| vs. UC Santa Barbara[note 2]*|

* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Los Angeles, CA

| L 0–13| 2,000| [8]
November 10| Chico State|

* Aggie Field
* Davis, CA

| W 28–7| 4,000| [9]
November 17| Sacramento State|

* Aggie Field
* Davis, CA (rivalry)

| W 14–0| |

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming

[10]

## Statistics

[edit]

The Aggies tallied 2,019 yards of total offense (224.4 per game), consisting of 1,450 rushing yards (161.6 per game) and 569 passing yards (63.2 per game). On defense, they gave up 2,435 yards (270.5 per game) including 1,531 rushing yards (170.1 per game) and 904 passing yards (100.3 per game).[11]

Quarterback Dick Carriere completed 58 of 124 passes for 569 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions. He also had 266 rushing yards and led the team with 835 yards of total offense. He also led the team in scoring with 34 points (three touchdowns, 11 extra point kicks, one field goal). Carriere was also the team's punter, averaging 33.9 yards on 49 punts.[11]

The team's rushing leaders were halfbacks Terry Haynie (345 yards, 58 carries) and Mike Doyle (291 yards, 71 carries).[11]

The team's leading receivers were end Ray DiGuilio (24 receptions, 190 yards) and halfback Ken Gardner (six receptions, 88 yards).[11]

## Awards and honors

[edit]

Five Cal Aggies players were selected as first-team hoorees on the 1961 All-Far Western Conference football team: back Bob Foster (offense); tackle Carl Ehret (offense); center Neil Laughlin (offense); end Jim Hanie (defense); and tackle Dick Williams (defense). Two others were named to the second team: linebacker Marlin Davis; and halfback Bill Moore (defense). Quarterback Dick Carriere and halfback Ron Sbragia received honorable mention.[12]

## Players

[edit]

* Linn Anderson (#59), guard (defense), 200 pounds
* Gary Carlson (#17), safety, 170 pounds
* Dick Carriere (#23), quarterback, 180 pounds
* Jim Clay (#83), end, 190 pounds
* Skip Davies (#36), halfback (defense), 200 pounds
* Carl Ehret (#75), tackle, 220 pounds
* Jim Ferrerier (#65), guard, 190 pounds
* Bob Foster (#34), fullback, 190 pounds
* Tom Giacomini (#81), end, 195 pounds
* Jim Haynie (#57), tackle (defense), 195 pounds
* Gordon Huntley (#64), guard, 195 pounds
* Gary Judd (#24), halfback, 160 pounds
* Larry McClish (#85), end (defense), 210 pounds
* Max Miller (#20), safety, 160 pounds
* Bill Moore (#40), middle linebacker, 195 pounds
* Bob Nichols (#72), tackle (defense), 220 pounds
* Terry Oldershaw, end (defense), 180 pounds
* Bill Raische (#26), halfback (defense), 170 pounds
* Ron Sbragla (#22), halfback, 175 pounds
* Roger Swearingen, (#58), center, 205 pounds
* Dale Wesihahn (#71), tackle, 212 pounds
* Dick Williams (#73), guard (defense), 195 pounds

[13]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ This stadium is the predecessor to the current Mackay Stadium, which was opened for the 1966 season.[4]
2. ^ The game against UC Santa Barbara was part of an "All-UC Doubleheader" that was held annually from 1948 to 1963. The other game of the double-header was California vs. UCLA. The games were always held at the home stadium of either Cal or UCLA.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Two Blocked Punts Aid Poets' Third Win In Row". The Daily News. October 2, 1961. p. 9 - via Newspapers.com.
2. ^ Tom Horton (October 8, 1961). "Aggies Score Homecoming Victory 40-12: Riverside Completely Outgunned as Davis 11 Scores Second '61 Win". The Sacramento Union. p. 2S - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "Brief Summary Of Cumulative Football Statistics (1961 UC Riverside)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
4. ^ "Mackay Stadium". University of Nevada, Reno. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
5. ^ "Amazing Aggies Clobber Nevada 36-12: Carriere, Judd Lead Underdogs to Win; Defensive Play Great". The Sacramento Union. October 15, 1961. p. 3S - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ Don Terbush (October 23, 1961). "Humboldt State Nips Cal Aggies In FWC Thriller". Eureka Humboldt Standard. Eureka, California. p. 17. Retrieved April 4, 2018 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Brief Summary Of Cumulative Football Statistics (1961 San Francisco State)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
8. ^ "Brief Summary Of Cumulative Football Statistics (1961 UC Santa Barbara)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
9. ^ "Brief Summary Of Cumulative Football Statistics (1961 Chico State)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
10. ^ "UC Davis Football 2015: Team Information Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 8, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
11. ^ a b c d "Brief Summary of Cumulative Football Statistics (1961 UC Davis)". NCAA. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
12. ^ "Name Six Humboldt Staters To All-FWC First Team". Humboldt Standard. December 2, 1961. p. 9 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ "Probable Starting Lineup". Eureka Humboldt Standard. October 21, 1961. p. 9 - via Newspapers.com.

* v
* t
* e

UC Davis Aggies football

Venues|

* Moreing Field (1925–1927)
* Sacramento Stadium (1928–1931)
* A Street Field (1932–1948)
* Toomey Field (1949–2006)
* UC Davis Health Stadium (2007–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Cal Poly: Battle for the Golden Horseshoe
* Sacramento State: Causeway Classic

Culture & lore|

* Gunrock the Mustang
* UC Davis Marching Band
* Aggie Fight
* KHTK

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees

Seasons|

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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf.]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number