| 1960Minnesota Golden Gophers football | |
|---|---|
AP Poll national champion Coaches’ Poll national champion Big Ten co-champion | |
Rose Bowl, L 7–17 vs.Washington | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 1 |
| AP | No. 1 |
| Record | 8–2 (6–1 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
|
| MVP | Tom Brown |
| Captain | Greg Larson |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
Seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1Minnesota + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3Iowa + | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8Ohio State | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15Michigan State | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 19Purdue | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1960 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented theUniversity of Minnesota in theBig Ten Conference during the1960 college football season. In their seventh year under head coachMurray Warmath, the Golden Gophers compiled an 8–2 record and outscored their opponents 228 to 88.[1]
The Gophers were led bySandy Stephens, the first African-AmericanAll-American starting quarterback at the school. Murray Warmath entered his seventh season as the Minnesota head football coach on the heels of three consecutive losing seasons. Expectations to start the season were not very high as the Golden Gophers were not ranked by a single news service. The Gophers opened the season with a 26–14 non-conference win at No. 12Nebraska. They shut out bothIndiana andNorthwestern, then also blankedMichigan 10–0 atMichigan Stadium to win theLittle Brown Jug. A win over non-conferenceKansas State put Minnesota at No. 3. The next game at No. 1Iowa was one of the most notable games in theFloyd of Rosedale rivalry. Minnesota won 27–10 and were top-ranked, but then lost toPurdue the next week. After Minnesota cruised to a 26–7 victory over Wisconsin, the Gophers were tied with Iowa in the Big Ten standings, each with a loss. The final AP poll of November 29 was one of the closest ever: Minnesota with 17½ first-place votes,Mississippi 16, and Iowa 12½. The Golden Gophers had earned their fourthAP national championship and first-ever trip to theRose Bowl in the process.[2][3]
Although No. 6Washington upset No. 1 Minnesota 17–7 in theRose Bowl in January, the post-season loss did not affect the Golden Gophers'national championship since the finalAP andCoaches' Polls were released at the conclusion of the regular season in late November and did not consider thebowl results.[4] This led to Minnesota being the first two-loss national champion in college football history. The major wire-service polls changed this policy in1965 (AP) and1974 (Coaches).
GuardTom Brown received the team's Most Valuable Player award, was a consensus first-teamAll-American, won theOutland Trophy, finished second in theHeisman Trophy voting, and received theChicago Tribune Silver Football, given to the Big Ten most valuable player. Brown, endTom Hall, and centerGreg Larson were named All-Big Ten first team. Tackle Frank Brixius was named an Academic All-American and Academic All-Big Ten.[5]
Total attendance at five home games was 334,954, an average of 55,825 per game. The largest crowd was againstIllinois.[6]
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 24 | at No. 12Nebraska* | W 26–14 | 38,000 | |||
| October 1 | Indiana | No. 18 | W 42–0 | 53,725 | ||
| October 8 | Northwestern | No. 14 |
| W 7–0 | 57,096 | |
| October 15 | Illinois | No. 10 |
| W 21–10 | 63,641 | |
| October 22 | atMichigan | No. 6 | W 10–0 | 69,352 | ||
| October 29 | Kansas State* | No. 6 |
| W 48–7 | 43,568 | |
| November 5 | No. 1Iowa | No. 3 |
| W 27–10 | 65,610 | |
| November 12 | Purdue | No. 1 |
| L 14–23 | 61,348 | |
| November 19 | atWisconsin | No. 4 | W 26–7 | 55,576 | ||
| January 2, 1961 | vs. No. 6Washington* | No. 1 | L 7–17 | 97,314 | [7][8] | |
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| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawkeyes | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| •Golden Gophers | 7 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 27 |
| 1 | Minn | Munsey 7-yard run (Rogers kick) | Minn 7-0 | |
| 1 | Iowa | Moore 28-yard field goal | Minn 7-3 | |
| 3 | Iowa | Williams 20-yard run (Moore kick) | Iowa 10-7 | |
| 3 | Minn | Stephens 1-yard run (kick failed) | Minn 13-10 | |
| 3 | Minn | Hagberg 42-yard run (Rogers kick) | Minn 20-10 | |
| 4 | Minn | Salem 1-yard run (Rogers kick) | Minn 27-10 | |