1961 Drake Bulldogs football team

The 1961 Drake Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented Drake University as an independent during the 1961 college football season. In its second season under head coach Bus Mertes, the team compiled a 5–4 record and was outscored by a total of 106 to 102. The team played its home games at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

1961 Drake Bulldogs football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–4
Head coach	Bus Mertes (2nd season)
Home stadium	Drake Stadium

1961 Midwestern college football independents records

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Baldwin–Wallace			–					9	–	0	–	0
Wheaton (IL)			–					8	–	0	–	0
Earlham			–					7	–	1	–	0
St. Norbert			–					7	–	2	–	0
Northern Michigan			–					6	–	2	–	0
Hillsdale			–					6	–	3	–	0
Ferris Institute			–					5	–	3	–	0
Bradley			–					6	–	4	–	0
Xavier			–					6	–	4	–	0
Eureka			–					3	–	2	–	1
Detroit			–					5	–	4	–	0
Drake			–					5	–	4	–	0
Wabash			–					5	–	4	–	0
Youngstown			–					4	–	4	–	1
Notre Dame			–					5	–	5	–	0
Concordia (IL)			–					4	–	4	–	0
St. Mary of the Plains			–					4	–	5	–	0
North Park			–					3	–	5	–	0
William Penn			–					3	–	5	–	1
St. Procopius			–					2	–	4	–	0
Dayton			–					2	–	8	–	0
Elmhurst			–					1	–	6	–	1
Rose Poly			–					0	–	8	–	0
Washington University			–					0	–	9	–	0

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	Iowa State	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	L 0–21	12,465
September 23	at Southern Illinois	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 7–0	10,000
September 30	at Colorado State–Greeley	Jackson Field Greeley, CO	W 7–0	4,000–4,500
October 7	State College of Iowa	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	W 21–6	5,000
October 14	Idaho State	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	L 11–12	5,000
October 28	Bradley	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	W 24–13	5,500–7,000
November 4	at North Texas	Fouts Field Denton, TX	L 21–28	5,000–8,000
November 11	at Wichita	Veterans Field Wichita, KS	L 13–26	9,130
November 18	at Omaha	Omaha, NE	W 36–13	1,800–2,400
Homecoming