1961 Southern Connecticut State Owls football team

1961 Southern Connecticut State Owls football
Conference	Independent
Record	7–2
Head coach	Jess Dow (14th season)
Seasons ← 1960 1962 →

1961 Eastern college football independents records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Middlebury			–					5	–	1	–	1
Villanova			–					8	–	2	–	0
Southern Connecticut State			–					7	–	2	–	0
Alfred			–					6	–	2	–	0
Montclair State			–					6	–	2	–	0
Delaware Valley			–					6	–	2	–	0
No. 17 Penn State			–					8	–	3	–	0
No. 14 Syracuse			–					8	–	3	–	0
Trinity (CT)			–					5	–	2	–	1
Holy Cross			–					7	–	3	–	0
C. W. Post			–					6	–	3	–	0
Army			–					6	–	4	–	0
Merchant Marine			–					6	–	4	–	0
Tufts			–					5	–	3	–	0
Rochester			–					5	–	3	–	0
Hamilton			–					4	–	3	–	0
Cortland State			–					4	–	3	–	0
American International			–					5	–	4	–	0
Colgate			–					5	–	4	–	0
Northeastern			–					4	–	4	–	0
Coast Guard			–					4	–	4	–	0
Ithaca			–					4	–	4	–	0
Boston University			–					4	–	5	–	0
Buffalo			–					4	–	5	–	0
Bridgeport			–					4	–	5	–	0
Norwich			–					3	–	4	–	1
Worcester Tech			–					3	–	4	–	0
Boston College			–					4	–	6	–	0
Union (NY)			–					3	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					3	–	7	–	0
Nichols			–					2	–	3	–	0
Trenton State			–					1	–	6	–	0
King's (PA)			–					1	–	8	–	0
Springfield			–					0	–	7	–	1
Brockport			–					0	–	7	–	0
RPI			–					0	–	7	–	0
Hobart			–					0	–	8	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1961 Southern Connecticut State Owls football team was an American football team that represented Southern Connecticut State College (now known as Southern Connecticut State University) as an independent during the 1961 college football season. In their 14th year under head coach Jess Dow, the Owls compiled a 7–2 record. ^[1] In the UPI New England small college coaches poll, they were ranked fifth behind Amherst, Maine, Williams and Trinity.

Southern Connecticut tallied an average of 351.6 yards per game of total offense, including 220.2 yards rushing. On defense, they held opponents to 103.0 rushing yards per game. ^[2]

Junior fullback Ralph "Horse" Ferrisi led all New England college players with 68 points scored. ^{[3] [4]} Ferrisi also led the team with 734 rushing yards and 734 yards of total offense. Raymond Ciarleglio and Joe Landino shared the quarterback position and tallied 366 and 365 passing yards, respectively. ^[5]

Tackle Brian O'Connor was selected as a second-team player on the 1961 Associated Press All New England football team; he was the only Southern Connecticut player named to the team. ^[6] Other key players included quarterback Ray Ciarleglio, center Genaro Germe, ^[7] and guard Larry McHugh. ^[8]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 23	Bridgeport	New Haven, CT	W 13–8	4,000
September 30	vs. Maryland State	Griffith Stadium Washington, DC (Capital Classic)	L 6–7	10,000
October 7	Geneva	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	W 60–0	4,500	[9] [10]
October 14	at Youngstown	Rayen Stadium Youngstown, OH	L 8–28	4,000	[11]
October 21	at Ithaca	South Hill Field Ithaca, NY	W 21–0	2,000	[12]
October 28	at Quonset NAS	Quonset, RI	W 41–12	500	[13]
November 4	Central Connecticut State	New Haven, CT	W 34–3	1,000	[14]
November 11	Northeastern	New Haven, CT	W 23–0	1,200–1,800	[15] [16]
November 18	American International	New Haven, CT	W 33–6	3,000–3,500	[17] [18]

^[5]

References

1. Official Collegiate Football Record Book 1962, p. 133.
2. "New England Sports Briefs". The North Adams Transcript. December 8, 1961. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Southern Connecticut Back Takes Over Scoring Lead". Bennington Banner. November 14, 1961. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Ferrisi Seems To Have Nailed Down NE Crown". Sun-Journal. November 21, 1961. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Brief Summary Of Cumulative Football Statistics". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved July 30, 2024.
6. "Maine's Kinney All-N.E. Choice". The Bangor Daily News. December 6, 1961. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Relatively Unknown Boys Touted by State Coaches". Hartford Courant. November 7, 1961. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Titans Sign Nutmegger". The Boston Globe. December 13, 1961. p. 42 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "South Conn. Rolls, 60-0, Over Geneva". The Pittsburgh Press. October 8, 1961. p. 7 (section 4) – via Newspapers.com.
10. "So. Connecticut State Crushes Geneva 60-0". The Hartford Courant. October 8, 1961. p. 5C – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Youngstown 28, S. Conn. 8". The Lima News. October 15, 1961. p. C2 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "College Blanked By Owl Eleven". The Ithaca Journal. October 23, 1961. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "So. Conn. Winner". The Bridgeport Post. October 29, 1961. p. D4 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "So. Conn. Smothers New Britain, 34-3". The Bridgeport Post. November 5, 1961. p. D3 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Joseph R. Hrubi (November 12, 1961). "Northeastern Bows, 23-0, to So. Conn". The Boston Globe. p. 84 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Brief Summary Of Cumulative Football Statistics (Northeastern)". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved August 1, 2024.
17. "Owls Rout AIC 33-6 in Finale". The Hartford Courant. November 19, 1961. p. 4C – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Brief Summary Of Cumulative Football Statistics (American International)". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved August 1, 2024.