The Northwestern Wildcats were 4-5 in 1961.
| GP | PTS | YDS | PLY | AVG | RUSH YDS | RUSH ATT | RUSH AVG | PASS YDS | PASS ATT | PASS AVG | SCK | SCKY | 1DWN | RUSH 1DWN | PASS 1DWN | PEN 1DWN | PEN | PEN YDS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | 9 | 131 | 2,526 | 582 | 4.3 | 1,801 | 441 | 4.1 | 725 | 141 | 5.1 | ||||||||
Team Rank | 71st | 52nd | 68th | 51st | 36th | 54th | 29th | 77th | 67th | 82nd | |||||||||
Opponent | 9 | 105 | 2,356 | 4.1 | 1,400 | 403 | 3.5 | 956 | 175 | 5.5 | |||||||||
Opponent Rank | 63rd | 37th | 47th | 39th | 26th | 51st | 68th | 82nd | 34th | ||||||||||
Net | +26 | +170 | +582 | +0.3 | +401 | +38 | +0.6 | -231 | -34 | -0.3 | |||||||||
Net Rank | 50th | 47th | 68th | 50th | 35th | 39th | 38th | 84th | 85th | 65th |
| Big 10 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| 2 | 11 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Independent | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 2 | .818 | |
| 2 | 9 | 3 | .750 |
| Pac-12 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 9 | .182 | |
| 2 | 5 | 6 | .455 |
| Mountain West | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 2 | .818 | |
| 2 | 7 | 4 | .636 |
| Big 12 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 1 | .909 | |
| 2 | 10 | 1 | .909 |
| American Athletic | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 2 | .818 | |
| 2 | 10 | 1 | .909 |
| Mid-American | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 4 | .667 | |
| 2 | 7 | 4 | .636 |
| Conference USA | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 4 | .636 | |
| 2 | 8 | 3 | .727 |
| Sun Belt | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 1 | .909 | |
| 2 | 8 | 3 | .727 |