View source for 1960 college football season

{{Short description|American college football season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox college football season
| year = 1960
| image = <!-- Please put in a good 1960 image if you know of one -->
| image_caption = 
| number_of_teams = 
| preseason_ap = [[1960 Syracuse Orangemen football team|Syracuse]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.appollarchive.com/football/ap/seasons.cfm?appollid=236 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002010354/http://www.appollarchive.com/football/ap/seasons.cfm?appollid=236 |archive-date=2011-10-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| regular_season = September 17 – November 26, 1960 <!-- Please list date of first regular season game to date of last regular season game -->
| number_of_bowls = 9
| bowl_start = December 17, 1960 <!-- Please list date of first bowl -->
| bowl_end = January 2, 1961 <!-- Please list date of last bowl -->
| champions = {{ubl|[[1960 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota]] (AP, Coaches, [[National Football Foundation|NFF]])|[[1960 Ole Miss Rebels football team|Ole Miss]] ([[Football Writers Association of America|FWAA]])|[[1960 Iowa Hawkeyes football team|Iowa]] ([[Litkenhous Ratings|Litkenhous]])|[[1960 Washington Huskies football team|Washington]] ([[Helms Athletic Foundation|Helms]])}}
| heisman = [[Joe Bellino]] ([[Halfback (American football)|halfback]], [[1960 Navy Midshipmen football team|Navy]])
}}
The '''1960 college football season''' was the 92nd season of [[college football|intercollegiate football]] in the United States. Five teams have a claim to the 1960 major college national championship:

* [[1960 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota]] (8–2) tied for the [[1969 Big Ten Conference football season|Big Ten championship]] and was ranked No. 1 in the final [[AP Poll|AP]] and [[Coaches Poll|UPI polls]]. Minnesota lost to [[1960 Washington Huskies football team|Washington]] in the [[1961 Rose Bowl|Rose Bowl]], but the final polls were issued prior to the bowl games, leaving intact Minnesota's claim as AP and UPI national champion.

* [[1960 Ole Miss Rebels football team|Ole Miss]] (10–0–1) won the SEC championship and defeated [[1960 Rice Owls football team|Rice]] in the [[1961 Sugar Bowl|Sugar Bowl]]. After the bowl games, Ole Miss was selected by the [[Football Writers Association of America]] as national champion. Ole Miss has also been recognized as national champion by six other selectors, including the [[National Championship Foundation]] and [[College Football Researchers Association]].

* [[1960 Missouri Tigers football team|Missouri]] lost their final game of the regular season 7–23 to [[Border War (Kansas–Missouri rivalry)|rival]] [[1960 Kansas Jayhawks football team|Kansas]] on  November 19, but on December 8 the Big Eight faculty committee ruled a Kansas player ineligible and ordered the Jayhawks to forfeit their last two victories. Missouri, therefore, officially ended the season 11–0 rather than 10–1 after defeating No. 5 [[1960 Navy Midshipmen football team|Navy]] in the [[1961 Orange Bowl|Orange Bowl]]. They were recognized by the [[Poling System]] as the national champion.

* [[1960 Iowa Hawkeyes football team|Iowa]] (8–1) tied for the Big Ten championship, was ranked No. 2 in the final UPI poll, and was recognized as national champion in the [[Litkenhous Ratings]]. 

* [[1960 Washington Huskies football team|Washington]] (10–1) was ranked No. 5 in the final UPI poll. After the final polls, Washington defeated No. 1  Minnesota in the Rose Bowl and was declared national champion by the [[Helms Athletic Foundation]].

Other major college teams compiling undefeated and untied records were [[1960 Yale Bulldogs football team|Yale]] (9–0, AP No. 14) and [[1960 New Mexico State Aggies football team|New Mexico State]] (11–0, AP No. 17, top scoring offense [37.4 points per game]). At the small college level, [[1960 Ohio Bobcats football team|Ohio]] (10–0) was recognized as the small college national champion by both the AP and UPI; [[1960 Southern Jaguars football team|Southern]] (9–1) was recognized as the [[Black college football national championship|black college national champion]]; and [[1960 Lenoir Rhyne Bears football team|Lenoir Rhyne]] (11–0–1) defeated [[1960 Humboldt State Lumberjacks football team|Humboldt State]] in the Holiday Bowl to win the [[NAIA football national championship|NAIA national championship]].

[[1960 Navy Midshipmen football team|Navy]] halfback [[Joe Bellino]] won the [[Heisman Trophy]] and the [[Maxwell Award]]. Statistical leaders in major college football in 1960 included [[1960 UCLA Bruins football team|UCLA]] quarterback [[Billy Kilmer]] with 1,889 yards of [[total offense]], [[1960 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team|Wake Forest]] quarterback [[Norm Snead]] with 1,676 passing yards, Washington State end [[Hugh Campbell]] with 66 receptions for 881 yards, and [[1960 New Mexico State Aggies football team|New Mexico State]] halfback [[Bob Gaiters]] with 1,338 rushing yards and 145 points scored.

==Conference and program changes==
===Conference changes===
*After the [[Big Eight Conference|Big Seven Conference]], still officially known as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, added Oklahoma State, the conference's unofficial name became the '''Big Eight Conference'''. This name would remain until the league's dissolution in 1995.

===Membership changes===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! School !! 1959 Conference !! 1960 Conference
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[University of Houston|Houston]] [[Houston Cougars football|Cougars]] || [[Missouri Valley Conference football|Missouri Valley]] || Independent
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[Oklahoma State University|Oklahoma State]] [[Oklahoma State Cowboys football|Cowboys]] || Independent || [[Big Eight Conference|Big Eight]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[Texas Tech University|Texas Tech]] [[Texas Tech Red Raiders football|Red Raiders]] || Independent || [[Southwest Intercollegiate Athletic Conference|Southwest]] 
|}

==Season chronology==
===September===
In the preseason poll released on September 12, the defending champion [[Syracuse Orange football|Syracuse Orangemen]] and 1959's second-place finisher, the [[1960 Ole Miss Rebels football team|Mississippi Rebels]], were No. 1 and No. 2, with 26 and 21 first place votes respectively. They were followed by the No. 3 [[1960 Washington Huskies football team|Washington Huskies]] from Seattle, the No. 4 [[1960 Texas Longhorns football team|Texas Longhorns]] and the No. 5 [[1960 Illinois Fighting Illini football team|Illinois Fighting Illini]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.appollarchive.com/football/ap/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-01-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002010550/http://www.appollarchive.com/football/ap/ |archive-date=2011-10-02 }}</ref>  As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games.

The Big Ten schools would not kick off until September 24. On '''September 17''', No. 2 Mississippi beat the [[Houston Cougars football|Houston Cougars]] in Houston, 42–0. No. 3 Washington crushed the visiting [[Pacific Tigers|College of the Pacific]], 55–6 (the school became the University of the Pacific in 1961). No. 4 Texas opened its season with a loss at home to Nebraska, falling 14–13. Ole Miss was voted No. 1, followed by No. 2 Syracuse, No. 3 Washington, and No. 4 Illinois. Previously unranked Alabama, which had beaten No. 13 Georgia 21–6 in [[Legion Field|Birmingham]], was fifth.

'''September 24''' No. 1 Mississippi beat [[Kentucky Wildcats football|Kentucky]] in Memphis, 21–6. No. 2 Syracuse opened its season with a 55–7 win over [[Boston University]]. No. 3 Washington won at home again, beating the [[Idaho Vandals football|University of Idaho Vandals]] 41–12. No. 4 Illinois beat [[Indiana Hoosiers football|Indiana]] 17–6. In Lincoln, Minnesota beat No. 12 Nebraska 26–14. No. 5 Alabama was tied 6–6 by [[Tulane Green Wave football|Tulane]] in New Orleans. Mississippi, Syracuse, Washington, and Illinois remained as the top four in the next poll, but [[Kansas Jayhawks football|Kansas]], which had crushed [[1960 Kansas State Wildcats football team|Kansas State]] 41–0 on the road, rose from No. 7 to No. 5. Minnesota entered the poll at the No. 18 spot.

===October===
'''October 1''' [[Ole Miss Rebels|No. 1 Mississippi]] played its second straight game in Memphis, Tennessee, beating Memphis State 31–20. [[Syracuse football|No. 2 Syracuse]] defeated [[Kansas Jayhawks football|No. 5 Kansas]] in Lawrence, Kansas, 14–7, to reclaim the top spot.  [[Washington Huskies football|No. 3 Washington]] narrowly lost 15–14 at home to the No. 17 Navy Midshipmen. [[Illinois football|No. 4 Illinois]] beat West Virginia 33–0. No. 8 Iowa beat No. 6 Northwestern 42-0 on the road. No. 9 Ohio State shut out visiting USC 20-0. No. 18 Minnesota beat Indiana 42–0. The following poll featured No. 1 Syracuse and No. 2 Mississippi, followed by three [[Big Ten]] teams: No. 3 Iowa, No. 4 Illinois, and No. 5 Ohio State. Also from the Big Ten, Purdue was 7th, Michigan State 13th, and Minnesota 14th.

'''October 8''' 
[[Syracuse football|No. 1 Syracuse]] struggled to beat Holy Cross 15–6 in Worcester, Mass. [[Ole Miss Rebels|No. 2 Mississippi]] won in their third consecutive trip to Tennessee, beating Vanderbilt 26–0 in Nashville. [[1960 Iowa Hawkeyes football team|No. 3 Iowa]] beat No. 13 Michigan State in East Lansing, 27–15.  [[Illinois football|No. 4 Illinois]] lost in Champaign, Ill., to [[Ohio State football|No. 5 Ohio State]], 34–7. [[Navy Midshipmen football|No. 6 Navy]], which had beaten SMU 26–7 at a game in the naval port of [[Norfolk, Virginia]], came in at fifth. No. 14 Minnesota beat Northwestern 7–0. The next poll was: No. 1 Mississippi, No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Syracuse, and No. 5 Navy. Minnesota reached the Top Ten at No. 10.

On '''October 15''', [[Ole Miss Rebels|No. 1 Mississippi]] beat Tulane in New Orleans 26–13, and [[1960 Iowa Hawkeyes football team|No. 2 Iowa]] beat No. 12 Wisconsin at home, 28–21.  [[Ohio State football|No. 3 Ohio State]] lost a close one at Purdue 24–21. [[Syracuse football|No. 4 Syracuse]] beat No. 20 Penn State 21–15,  and  [[Navy Midshipmen football|No. 5 Navy]] beat the Air Force Academy 35–3 in [[Baltimore]]. No. 6 [[Missouri Tigers football|Missouri]] reached 5–0 after a 45–0 win over Kansas State at Manhattan, KS. No. 10 Minnesota beat Illinois 21–10.  The Iowa Hawkeyes narrowly topped the next poll, with 23 first place votes to 22 for Ole Miss, and only two points to separate No. 1 and No. 2 (442–440).  They were followed by No. 3 Syracuse, No. 4 Navy, and No. 5 [[Missouri Tigers football|Missouri]]. Minnesota rose from 10th to 6th.

'''October 22''' [[1960 Iowa Hawkeyes football team|No. 1 Iowa]] beat No. 10 Purdue 21–14 and [[Ole Miss Rebels|No. 2 Mississippi]] edged No. 14 Arkansas 10–7 in Little Rock. [[Syracuse football|No. 3 Syracuse]] won at West Virginia 45–0, while [[Navy Midshipmen football|No. 4 Navy]] beat the Ivy League's Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, 27–0.  [[Missouri Tigers football|No. 5 Missouri]], which had held all of its opponents to single digits, continued winning with a 34–8 thrashing of Iowa State. In Ann Arbor, Michigan, No. 6 Minnesota beat Michigan 10–0.  Iowa tightened its hold on No. 1 in the next poll, with 34 of the 48 votes for first place. The next week's Top 20 had only nineteen teams, with Kansas at No. 19 with 2 points. The top five remained the same.

'''October 29''' [[1960 Iowa Hawkeyes football team|No. 1 Iowa]] beat No. 19 Kansas 21–7. [[Ole Miss Rebels|No. 2 Mississippi]] played its 7th game of the season, but its first at home in Oxford, and was tied 6–6 by the LSU Tigers, the only team which had defeated them in 1959. [[Syracuse football|No. 3 Syracuse]] lost to Pittsburgh 10–0. In [[Philadelphia]], [[Navy Midshipmen football|No. 4 Navy]] beat Notre Dame 14–7. [[Missouri Tigers football|No. 5 Missouri]] crushed Nebraska in Lincoln, 28–0, to go 7–0–0. At this time, they had outscored their opponents 210–31.  No. 6 Minnesota beat Kansas State 48–7. [[Ohio State football|No. 8 Ohio State]] defeated No. 10 Michigan State in East Lansing, 21–10. The next poll again featured three Big Ten teams in the top five: No. 1 Iowa, No. 2 Missouri, No. 3 Minnesota, No. 4 Navy, and No. 5 Ohio State.

===November===
'''November 5'''  The battle between the Big Ten's two 6–0–0 teams took place in Minneapolis, where [[1960 Iowa Hawkeyes football team|No. 1 Iowa]] lost to [[Minnesota Gophers football|No. 3 Minnesota]], 27–10. [[Missouri Tigers football|No. 2 Missouri]] beat No. 18 Colorado at home 16–6. [[Navy Midshipmen football|No. 4 Navy]] lost in Durham, North Carolina, to No. 13 Duke 19–10. [[Ohio State football|No. 5 Ohio State]] handled Indiana 36–7. Having dethroned the No. 1 team, the Minnesota Gophers took the top spot in the poll released on November 7, 1960, with 40 of the 47 voters voting them as No. 1. [[Ole Miss Rebels|No. 6 Mississippi]], still unbeaten, returned to the Top Five after a 45–0 win over the University of Chattanooga. The top five was No. 1 Minnesota, No. 2 Missouri, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Mississippi, and No. 5 Iowa.

'''November 12''' 
[[Minnesota Gophers football|No. 1 Minnesota]] lost to Purdue, 23–14. [[Missouri Tigers football|No. 2 Missouri]] gave up more than a touchdown for the first time, but still won 41–19 at Oklahoma. [[Ohio State football|No. 3 Ohio State]] lost at [[1960 Iowa Hawkeyes football team|No. 5 Iowa]], 35–12. [[Ole Miss Rebels|No. 4 Mississippi]] beat No. 14 Tennessee in Knoxville, 24–3.  [[Washington Huskies football|No. 6 Washington]], which had beaten California 27–7, moved into the Top Five. The Missouri Tigers captured the top spot in the next poll, which was No. 1 Missouri, No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Mississippi, No. 4 Minnesota, and No. 5 Washington.

'''November 19''' 
Unbeaten [[Missouri Tigers football|No. 1 Missouri]], with only a home game left between it and the national championship, lost to visiting Kansas, 23–7, but the game was later forfeited to Missouri due to the Jayhawks' use of an ineligible player.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/12/09/archives/decision-follows-action-of-ncaa-missouri-colorado-games-forfeited.html|title=DECISION FOLLOWS ACTION OF N.C.A.A.; Missouri, Colorado Games Forfeited -- Recruiting of Coan is Charged|newspaper=The New York Times|date=9 December 1960}}</ref><ref name="LawrenceDailyJournalWorldDecember9"/> [[1960 Iowa Hawkeyes football team|No. 2 Iowa]] defeated Notre Dame in South Bend, 28–0. [[Ole Miss Rebels|No. 3 Mississippi]] was idle. [[Minnesota Gophers football|No. 4 Minnesota]] closed its season with a 26–7 win at Wisconsin. They tied with Iowa atop the Big Ten standings and earned a [[1961 Rose Bowl|Rose Bowl]] berth by virtue of their head-to-head victory over the Hawkeyes. Their opponent would be [[Washington Huskies football|No. 5 Washington]], which played its season ender against 4–4–1 Washington State in Spokane and won only by a 2–point conversion, 8–7. In the penultimate poll, released November 21, No. 1 Minnesota, No. 2 Iowa, and No. 3 Mississippi had 13½, 17½ and 13 first place votes respectively (voters were allowed to split their choices for No. 1), followed by No. 4 Washington and No. 5 Missouri.

'''November 26''' 
[[Ole Miss Rebels|No. 3 Mississippi]] finished its season unbeaten (9–0–1) with a 35–9 win at home over Mississippi State, earning the SEC title and a spot in the [[1961 Sugar Bowl|Sugar Bowl]]. All of the other Top Five teams had finished their schedules, but No. 7 Navy moved up in the final poll with a 17–12 victory against Army. The Midshipmen would face off against Missouri in the Orange Bowl.

With both the AP and UPI [[1960 major college football rankings|finishing their voting]] before the bowl games, the championship was determined in December. The AP writers divided among No. 1 Minnesota (8–1), No. 2 Mississippi (9–0–1), and No. 3 Iowa (8–1), and some voters split their choices. As such, the Minnesota Gophers received 17½ votes for No. 1, Mississippi got 16, and Iowa 12½. Minnesota had 433½ poll points, ahead of 411 for Ole Miss and 407½ for Iowa. The next tier of teams all had one loss and also were closely packed together: No. 4 Navy had 262 poll points, No. 5 Missouri had 253, and No. 6 Washington had 250.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://collegepollarchive.com/football/ap/seasons.cfm?appollid=247#.YdkiKv7MI2w|title = 1960 Final Football Polls - College Poll Archive - Historical College Football, Basketball, and Softball Polls and Rankings}}</ref> The UPI Coaches Poll placed the teams in a slightly different order, but also settled on Minnesota as the No. 1 choice.

Because the final Associated Press and United Press International polls were conducted after the final game of the regular season, Minnesota is considered the national champion for 1960 despite their loss to Washington in the [[1961 Rose Bowl|Rose Bowl]]. After the bowl games, the Helms Athletic Foundation recognized Washington as national champion,<ref>{{citation | last = Jenkins| first = Dan | title = This Year The Fight Will Be in the Open | magazine = Sports Illustrated | date = September 11, 1967 | page=33 | volume = 27 | issue = 11 | publisher = Time Inc. | location=Chicago, IL | url=https://www.si.com/vault/1967/09/11/614180/this-year-the-fight-will-be-in-the-open | access-date=March 16, 2016|quote=In 1948, the Helms Athletic Foundation decided to name a national champion … and name past champions. The director of Helms since its beginning, Bill Schroeder, did the work, and he now heads the committee that selects No. 1 after the bowl games. 'A committee of one – me,' he says.}}</ref> while the [[Football Writers Association of America]] crowned Mississippi as national champion.  Had the polls been taken after the bowl games, Missouri would likely also have been a contender for the national championship, as the Tigers beat Navy in the Orange Bowl and their 10–1 record was improved to 11–0 when the Kansas game was declared a forfeit.

The MAC's Ohio Bobcats were also crowned the world small college football champions in 1960, after an undefeated season.

===December===
'''December 8'''
The Big Eight faculty committee, meeting in Kansas City, ruled [[1960 Kansas Jayhawks football team|Kansas]] halfback [[Bert Coan]] ineligible and ordered the Jayhawks to forfeit their last two victories on November 12 and 19.<ref name="LawrenceDailyJournalWorldDecember9">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lcMxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=buUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6111%2C5489823 |work=Lawrence Daily Journal-World |location=(Kansas)|last=Morey |first=Earl |title=Big Eight voted 5-3 to strip KU's title in Bert Coan action |date=December 9, 1960 |page=1 |quote=The move gave MU a 10-0 season record and a 7-0 record in league play.}}</ref> The reversal brought Missouri's record to 11–0 instead of 10–1.

==Conference standings==
===Major conferences===
{| cellpadding="5"
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Athletic Association of Western Universities football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Big Eight Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Big Ten Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Border Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Ivy League football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Missouri Valley Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Skyline Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Southeastern Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Southern Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Southwest Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 NCAA University Division independents football records}}
|-
|}

===Minor conferences===

{| cellpadding="5"
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 College Conference of Illinois football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Far Western Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Gulf States Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Hoosier Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Iowa Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Lone Star Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Mason–Dixon Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Mid-American Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Mid-Ohio League football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Midwest Athletic Association football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Midwest Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 North Central Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Northern State College Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Ohio Valley Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Pennsylvania State College Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Virginia Little Eight Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 West Penn Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Wisconsin State College Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Yankee Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 NCAA College Division independents football records}}
|}

===NAIA conferences===
{| cellpadding="5"
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Badger-Gopher Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 College Conference of Illinois football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Evergreen Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Far Western Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Frontier Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Gulf States Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Iowa Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Lone Star Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Mid-Ohio League football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Midwest Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Missouri College Athletic Union football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Montana Collegiate Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Nebraska College Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 North Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 North State Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Northern State College Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Northwest Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Oregon Collegiate Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Pennsylvania State College Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Tri-State Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 West Penn Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings}}
|-
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 Wisconsin State College Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1960 NAIA independents football records}}
|}

==Rankings==
===Major college polls===

{{Main|1960 major college football rankings}} 

{{col-begin|width=auto}}
{{col-break}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ AP writers poll<ref>{{cite news|title=Minnesota Cops Grid Crown|newspaper=Kearney Hub|date=November 29, 1960|page=6|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/kearney-hub-ap-poll/149613169/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
|-
! Rank
! Team
! 1st
! Points
|-
|1
|[[1960 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota]] (8–2)
| 17.5
| 433.5
|-
|2
|[[1960 Ole Miss Rebels football team|Ole Miss]] (10–0–1)
| 16
| 411
|-
|3
|[[1960 Iowa Hawkeyes football team|Iowa]] (8–1)
| 12.5
| 407.5
|-
|4
|[[1960 Navy Midshipmen football team|Navy]] (9–2)
| 
| 262
|-
|5
|[[1960 Missouri Tigers football team|Missouri]] (11–0)
| 
| 253
|-
|6
|[[1960 Washington Huskies football team|Washington]] (10–1)
| 2
| 250
|-
|7
|[[1960 Arkansas Razorbacks football team|Arkansas]] (8–3)
| 
| 212
|-
|8
|[[1960 Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State]] (7–2)
| 
| 138
|-
|9
|[[1960 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]] (8–1–2)
| 
| 53
|-
|10
|[[1960 Duke Blue Devils football team|Duke]] (8–3)
| 
| 46
|-
|11
|[[1960 Kansas Jayhawks football team|Kansas]] (5–4–1)
| 
| 40
|-
|12
|[[1960 Baylor Bears football team|Baylor]] (8–3)
| 
| 35
|-
|13
|[[1960 Auburn Tigers football team|Auburn]] (8–2)
| 
| 25
|-
|14
|[[1960 Yale Bulldogs football team|Yale]] (9–0)
| 
| 17
|-
|15
|[[1960 Michigan State Spartans football team|Michigan State]] (6–2–1)
| 
| 16
|-
|16
|[[1960 Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State]] (7–3)
| 
| 15
|-
|17
|[[1960 New Mexico State Aggies football team|New Mexico State]] (11–0)
| 
| 8
|-
|18
|[[1960 Florida Gators football team|Florida]] (9–2)
| 
| 6
|-
|19
|[[1960 Purdue Boilermakers football team|Purdue]] (4–4–1)
| 
| 4
|-
|19
|[[1960 Syracuse Orangemen football team|Syracuse]] (7–2)
| 
| 4
|}
{{col-break|gap=4em}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ UPI coaches poll<ref>{{cite news|title=Minnesota Wins National Championship In Final UPI College Grid Poll|newspaper=The Hobart Democrat-Chief|date=November 29, 1960|page=6|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-hobart-democrat-chief-upi-poll/149613620/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
|-
! Rank
! Team
! 1st
! Points
|-
|1
|Minnesota
|21
|326
|-
|2
|Iowa
|5
|300
|-
|3
|Ole Miss
|9
|284
|-
|4
|Missouri
| 
| 194
|-
|5
|Washington
| 
| 181
|-
|6
|Navy
| 
| 150
|-
|7
|Arkansas
| 
| 137
|-
|8
|Ohio State
| 
| 89
|-
|9
|Kansas
| 
| 44
|-
|9
|Alabama
| 
| 44
|-
|11
|Duke
| 
| 35
|-
|12
|Baylor
| 
| 29
|-
|13
|Michigan State
| 
| 26
|-
|14
|Auburn
| 
| 16
|-
|15
|Purdue
| 
| 14
|-
|16
|Florida
| 
| 10
|-
|17
|[[1960 Texas Longhorns football team|Texas]] (7–3–1)
| 
| 7
|-
|18
|Yale
| 
| 6
|-
|18
|New Mexico State
| 
| 6
|-
|18
|[[1960 Tennessee Volunteers football team|Tennessee]] (6–2–2)
| 
| 6
|}
{{col-end}}

===Small college polls===
In 1960, both [[United Press International]] (UPI) and the [[Associated Press]] (AP) conducted "small college" polls. This was the first year that the AP (polling a panel of  eight "selectors" from NCAA districts) conducted their poll, and the third year that UPI (polling a panel of coaches) conducted their poll.  Both wire services named the [[1960 Ohio Bobcats football team|Ohio Bobcats]] – who had a record of 10–0, registered five shutouts, and held all their opponents to eight points or less<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/active/o/ohio/1960-1964_yearly_results.php| title = Welcome cfbdatawarehouse.com - BlueHost.com| access-date = 2019-02-26| archive-date = 2018-10-03| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181003123224/http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/active/o/ohio/1960-1964_yearly_results.php| url-status = dead}}</ref> – as the number one team.<ref>"Ohio University Hailed as Small College Champ by Big Margin Over Bee Gees," ''The Coshocton Tribune'' (Coshocton, Ohio), November 25, 1960, p13</ref><ref>"Ohio Named Champs In AP Poll," ''Berkshire Eagle'', December 1, 1960, p35</ref>
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
United Press International (coaches) final poll<br>
Published on November 25<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/90523115/?terms=bobcats |title=La. Tech Sixth On Final Ballot |author=[[United Press International|UPI]] |url-access=subscription |newspaper=[[The News-Star|The Monroe News-Star]] |location=[[Monroe, Louisiana]] |via=newspapers.com |date=November 25, 1960 |access-date=February 27, 2017}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Rank
!School 
!Record{{dagger}}
!No. 1<br>votes
!Total<br>points
|-
| 1 || [[1960 Ohio Bobcats football team|Ohio]] || 10–0 || 28 || 348
|-
| 2 || [[1960 Bowling Green Falcons football team|Bowling Green]] || 8–1 ||  || 250
|-
| 3 || [[1960 Lenoir–Rhyne Bears football team|Lenoir–Rhyne]] || 10–0 || 3 || 236
|-
| 4 || [[1960 Muskingum Fighting Muskies football team|Muskingum]] || 9–0 || 1 || 100
|-
| 5 || [[1960 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]] || 7–1 ||  || 94
|-
| 6 || [[1960 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team|Louisiana Tech]] || 8–2 || 1 || 93
|-
| 7 || [[1960 Iowa State Teachers Panthers football team|Iowa State Teachers]] || 9–1 ||  || 82
|-
| 8 || [[1960 Humboldt State Lumberjacks football team|Humboldt State]] || 10–0 || 1 || 71
|-
| 9 || [[1960 Fresno State Bulldogs football|Fresno State]] || 8–1 ||  || 70
|-
| 10 || {{cfb link|year=1960|team=Southeastern Louisiana Lions|title=Southeastern Louisiana}} || 9–1 || 1 || 57
|}
{{dagger}}Rankings were published without records.
{{col-break}}
Associated Press (writers) final poll<br>
Published on December 1<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/263946097/?terms=bobcats |title=Ohio University Top-Ranked In AP Small College Voting |author=[[Associated Press|AP]] |url-access=subscription |newspaper=[[Pensacola News Journal]] |location=[[Pensacola, Florida]] |via=newspapers.com |date=December 1, 1960 |access-date=February 27, 2017}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Rank
!School 
!Record
!No. 1<br>votes
!Total<br>points
|-
| 1 || [[1960 Ohio Bobcats football team|Ohio]] || 10–0 || 4 || 65
|-
| 2 || [[1960 Lenoir–Rhyne Bears football team|Lenoir–Rhyne]] || 10–0  ||  || 46
|-
| 3 || [[1960 Humboldt State Lumberjacks football team|Humboldt State]] || 10–0  || 1 || 34
|-
| 4 || {{cfb link|year=1960|team=Whitworth Pirates|title=Whitworth}}|| 9–0 || || 32
|-
| 5 || [[1960 West Chester Golden Rams football team|West Chester]] || 9–0 || 1 || 30
|-
| 6 || [[1960 Bowling Green Falcons football team|Bowling Green]] || 8–1  ||  || 28
|-
| 7 || [[1960 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team|Louisiana Tech]] || 8–2 ||  || 26
|-
| 8 || {{cfb link|year=1960|team=Hillsdale Dales|title=Hillsdale }} || 9–1 ||  || 19
|-
| 9 || [[1960 Muskingum Fighting Muskies football team|Muskingum]] || 9–0 || || 16
|-
| 10 || [[1960 Iowa State Teachers Panthers football team|Iowa State Teachers]] || 9–1 ||  || 15
|}
{{col-end}}

==Postseason==
Because the [[1960 NCAA University Division football rankings|final polls]] came out in November, the outcome of the post-season bowl games had no effect on the championships already awarded by the AP and UPI polls. As winner of the Big Ten title, No. 1 Minnesota went to the Rose Bowl to face Washington, which had the best record of the five teams in the AAWU (today's Pac-12). No. 2 Mississippi, as winner of the SEC, was invited to the Sugar Bowl to face unranked Rice University. The Big Ten did not allow its teams to play in a postseason game other than the Rose Bowl, so No. 3 Iowa stayed home. Although Washington upset Minnesota 17–7 in Pasadena, the post-season loss did not affect the Gophers' championship as determined by the AP and UPI. Washington also claims the 1960 National Championship.

===Major bowls===
''Monday, January 2, 1961''
{| class="wikitable"
!Bowl
!
!
!
!
|-
| [[1961 Rose Bowl|Rose Bowl]]
| No. 6 [[1960 Washington Huskies football team|Washington Huskies]] 
| 17
| No. 1 [[1960 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota Golden Gophers]] 
| align=center|7
|-
| [[1961 Sugar Bowl|Sugar Bowl]]
| No. 2 [[1960 Ole Miss Rebels football team|Mississippi Rebels]]
| 14
| [[1960 Rice Owls football team|Rice Owls]]
| align=center|6
|-
| [[1961 Orange Bowl|Orange Bowl]]
| No. 5 [[1960 Missouri Tigers football team|Missouri Tigers]] 
| 21
| No. 4 [[1960 Navy Midshipmen football team|Navy Midshipmen]] 
| 14
|-
| [[1961 Cotton Bowl Classic|Cotton Bowl]]
| No. 10 [[1960 Duke Blue Devils football team|Duke Blue Devils]] 
| align=center|7
| No. 7 [[1960 Arkansas Razorbacks football team|Arkansas Razorbacks]] 
| align=center|6
|-
|}

===Other bowls===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Bowl
!Location
!Date 
!Winner
!Score
!Loser
|-
|[[1960 Sun Bowl|Sun Bowl]]
|[[El Paso, Texas|El Paso, TX]]
|December 31
|No. 17 [[1960 New Mexico State Aggies football team|New Mexico State]] 
|20–13
|[[1960 Utah State Aggies football team|Utah State]]
|-
|[[1960 Gator Bowl (December)|Gator Bowl]]
|[[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville, FL]]
|December 31
|No. 18 [[1960 Florida Gators football team|Florida]]
|13–12
|No. 12 [[1960 Baylor Bears football team|Baylor]]
|-
|[[1960 Tangerine Bowl (December)|Tangerine Bowl]]
|[[Orlando, Florida|Orlando, FL]]
|December 30
|[[1960 The Citadel Bulldogs football team|The Citadel]]
| 27–0
|[[Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football|Tennessee Tech]]
|-
|[[1960 Bluebonnet Bowl|Bluebonnet Bowl]]
|Houston, TX
|December 17
|No. 9 [[1960 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]]
| &nbsp;3–3
|[[1960 Texas Longhorns football team|Texas]]
|-
|[[1960 Liberty Bowl|Liberty Bowl]]
|[[Philadelphia|Philadelphia, PA]]
|December 17
|No. 16 [[1960 Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State]]
|41–12
|[[1960 Oregon Webfoots football team|Oregon]]
|-
|[[Prairie View Bowl]]
|[[Houston|Houston, TX]]
|January 1, 1961
|[[1960 Prairie View A&M Panthers football team|Prairie View]]
|19–8
|[[1960 Arkansas AM&N Golden Lions football team|Arkansas AM&N]]
|-
|[[Orange Blossom Classic]]
|[[Miami|Miami, FL]]
|December 10
|[[1960 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
|40–26
|{{cfb link|year=1960|team=Langston Lions|title=Langston}}
|-
|[[Mineral Water Bowl]]
|[[Excelsior Springs, Missouri|Excelsior Springs, MO]]
|November 26
|{{cfb link|year=1960|team=Hillsdale Dales|title=Hillsdale}}
|17–6
|[[1960 Iowa State Teachers Panthers football team|Iowa Teachers]]
|-
|Great Southwest Bowl
|Grand Prairie, TX
|December 31
|{{cfb link|year=1960|team=Texas A&I Javelinas|title=Texas A&I}}
|45–14
|{{cfb link|year=1960|team=Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys|title=Arkansas Tech}}
|-
|West Virginia Bowl
|[[Clarksburg, West Virginia|Clarksburg, WV]]
|November 24
|{{cfb link|year=1960|team=Fairmont State Falcons|title=Fairmont State}}
|13–7
|{{cfb link|year=1960|team=Salem Tigers|title=Salem}}
|-
|Rice Bowl
|[[Stuttgart, Arkansas|Stuttgart, AR]]
|December 2
|{{cfb link|year=1960|team=East Central Tigers|title=East Central}}
|25–7
|{{cfb link|year=1960|team=Henderson State Reddies|title=Henderson State}}
|-
|Rocket Bowl
|
|
|{{cfb link|year=1960|team=Maryville Scots|title=Maryville (TN)}}
|19–0
|{{cfb link|year=1960|team=Milligan Buffaloes|title=Milligan}}
|}

===NAIA postseason===
The 1960 NAIA football season was the fifth season of college football sponsored by the [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics]]. The season culminated in the fifth annual '''[[NAIA Football National Championship]]''', played this year for the last time at [[Stewart Field (stadium)|Stewart Field]] in [[St. Petersburg, Florida]]. During its four years in St. Petersburg, the game was called the '''Holiday Bowl'''.

[[1960 Lenoir Rhyne Bears football team|Lenoir Rhyne]], who lost the 1959 championship game, defeated [[1960 Humboldt State Lumberjacks football team|Humboldt State]] in the championship game, 15–14, to win their first NAIA national title.<ref>{{cite web|title=NAIA Championship History|url=http://www.naia.org/fls/27900/1NAIA/SportsInfo/Championships/FB_Championship.pdf?SPSID=640523|work=NAIA|access-date=November 13, 2015|pages=4–11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715022933/http://www.naia.org/fls/27900/1NAIA/SportsInfo/Championships/FB_Championship.pdf?SPSID=640523|archive-date=July 15, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{4TeamBracket

| RD1         = '''Semifinals'''<br>December 3, 1960
| RD2         = '''Championship'''<br>December 17, 1960<br>[[Holiday Bowl (NAIA)|Holiday Bowl]]<ref>{{cite web|title=1960 NAIA Football Playoffs|url=http://www.jonfmorse.com/wiki/index.php?title=1960_NAIA_Football_Playoffs|work=JonFMorse.com|access-date=November 13, 2015}}</ref>

| seed-width  = 
| team-width  = 
| score-width =

| RD1-seed1   =
| RD1-team1   = {{cfb link|year=1960|team=Whitworth Pirates|title=Whitworth}}
| RD1-score1  = 6
| RD1-seed2   =
| RD1-team2   = '''[[1960 Humboldt State Lumberjacks football team|Humboldt State]]'''*
| RD1-score2  = '''13'''

| RD1-seed3   =
| RD1-team3   = {{cfb link|year=1960|team=Northern Michigan Wildcats|title=Northern Michigan}}
| RD1-score3  = 20
| RD1-seed4   =
| RD1-team4   = '''[[1960 Lenoir Rhyne Bears football team|Lenoir Rhyne]]'''*
| RD1-score4  = '''20'''†

| RD2-seed1   =
| RD2-team1   = Humboldt State
| RD2-score1  = 14
| RD2-seed2   =
| RD2-team2   = '''Lenoir Rhyne'''
| RD2-score2  = '''15'''
}}

*† ''The game ended in a tie but Lenoir Rhyne advanced based on having more total penetrations within Northern Michigan's 20 yard line.''

==Award season==
===Heisman Trophy voting===
''The [[Heisman Trophy]] is given to the year's most outstanding player''

{| class="wikitable"
! Player !! School !! Position !! 1st !! 2nd !! 3rd !! Total
|-
| '''[[Joe Bellino]]''' || '''[[1960 Navy Midshipmen football team|Navy]]''' || '''HB''' || '''436''' || '''196''' || '''93''' || '''1,793'''
|-
| [[Tom Brown (guard)|Tom Brown]] || [[1960 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota]] || G || 127 || 121 || 108 || 731
|-
| [[Jake Gibbs]] || [[1960 Ole Miss Rebels football team|Ole Miss]] || QB || 74 || 77 || 77 || 453
|-
| [[Ed Dyas]] || [[1960 Auburn Tigers football team|Auburn]] || FB || 46 || 63 || 55 || 319
|-
| [[Billy Kilmer]] || [[1960 UCLA Bruins football team|UCLA]] || HB || 55 || 42 || 31 || 280
|-
| [[Mike Ditka]] || [[1960 Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh]] || E || 17 || 52 || 68 || 223
|-
| [[Tom Matte]] || [[1960 Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State]] || QB || 17 || 42 || 30 || 165
|-
| [[Dan LaRose]] || [[1960 Missouri Tigers football team|Missouri]] || E || 16 || 28 || 32 || 136
|-
| [[Pervis Atkins]] || [[1960 New Mexico State Aggies football team|New Mexico State]] || HB || 25 || 18 || 13 || 124
|-
| [[E. J. Holub]] || [[1960 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team|Texas Tech]] || C || 14 || 23 || 29 || 117
|}
'''Source:''' <ref name=jblhsmn>{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1960/11/30/page/60/article/bellino-heisman-winner |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |agency=Associated Press |title=Bellino Heisman winner |date=November 30, 1960 |page=2, sec. 4}}</ref><ref name=jbhsmn60>{{cite web |url=http://heisman.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=26&path=football |work=Heisman Trophy |title=Joe Bellino |date=1960 |access-date=January 26, 2017}}</ref>

===All-Americans===
{{Main|1960 College Football All-America Team}}
{{Main|1960 Little All-America college football team}}

For the year 1960, the NCAA recognizes six published All-American teams as "official" designations for purposes of its consensus determinations. The following chart identifies the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans and displays which first-team designations they received.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="15%" | Name
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="10%" | Position
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="10%" | School
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7%" | Number
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="25%" | Official
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="10%" | Other
|-align="left"
|[[Mike Ditka]]||End||[[1960 Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh]]||6/6||AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI||CP, Time, WC
|-align="left"
|[[Dan LaRose]]||End||[[1960 Missouri Tigers football team|Missouri]]||6/6||AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI||CP, Time, WC
|-align="left"
|[[Bob Lilly]]||Tackle||[[TCU Horned Frogs football|TCU]]||6/6||AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI||CP, Time, WC
|-align="left"
|[[Tom Brown (Canadian football)|Tom Brown]]||Guard||[[1960 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota]]||6/6||AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI||CP, Time, WC
|-align="left"
|[[Joe Bellino]]||Halfback||[[1960 Navy Midshipmen football team|Navy]]||6/6||AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI||CP, Time, WC
|-align="left"
|[[Bob Ferguson (American football player)|Bob Ferguson]]||Fullback||[[1960 Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State]]||6/6||AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI||CP, Time, WC
|-align="left"
|[[Jake Gibbs]]||Quarterback||[[1960 Ole Miss Rebels football team|Ole Miss]]||6/6||AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI||CP, WC
|-align="left"
|[[Ken Rice (American football)|Ken Rice]]||Tackle||[[1960 Auburn Tigers football team|Auburn]]||5/6||AFCA, AP, FWAA, SN, UPI||CP, Time, WC
|-align="left"
|[[E. J. Holub]]||Center||[[1960 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team|Texas Tech]]||5/6||AFCA, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI||CP, Time, WC
|-align="left"
|[[Joe Romig]]||Guard||Colorado||3/6||AFCA, FWAA, UPI||WC
|-align="left"
|[[Ernie Davis]]||Halfback||Syracuse||2/6||AFCA, UPI||WC
|-align="left"
|}

===Other awards===
* [[Maxwell Award]] - [[Joe Bellino]], Navy<ref>{{cite news|title=Bellino gets Maxwell Award As Year's Best|newspaper=Tampa Bay Times|date=December 1, 1960|page=5C|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/tampa-bay-times-bellino-gets-maxwell-awa/149815222/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
* [[Sammy Baugh Trophy]] - [[Harold Stephens (American football)|Harold Stephens]], Hardin-Simmons
* [[Outland Trophy]] (best lineman) - [[Tom Brown (guard)|Tom Brown]], Minnesota<ref>{{cite news|title=Tom Brown Wins Honor|newspaper=Arizona Daily Star|date=December 4, 1960|page=D5|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-daily-star-tom-brown/149815087/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
* [[AFCA Coach of the Year Award]] - [[Murray Warmath]], Minnesota
* FWAA Coach of the Year Award - Murray Warmath, Minnesota

==Statistical leaders==
===Individual===
====Total offense====
The following players were the individual leaders in [[total offense]] during the 1960 season:<br>

'''Major college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!Player
!Team
!Games
!Plays
! Total Yds
! PtR<ref>Points-for-which-responsible is player's total of points scored and points passed for</ref>
|-
|1||[[Billy Kilmer]]||UCLA||10||292||'''1889'''||104
|-
|2||[[Mel Melin]]||Washington State||10||'''313'''||1715||92
|-
|3||[[Charley Johnson]]||New Mexico State||10||262||1634||88
|-
|4||[[Norm Snead]]||Wake Forest||10||312||1630||69
|-
|5||Howard Dyer||VMI||10||260||1478||'''138'''
|-
|6||[[Terry Baker]]||Oregon State||10||228||1473||56
|-
|7||[[Tom Matte]]||Ohio State||9||256||1419||62
|-
|8||[[Ron Miller (American football)|Ron Miller]]||Wisconsin||9||238||1395||68
|-
|9||[[James Earl Wright (American football)|James Earl Wright]]||Memphis State||10||191||1375||112
|-
|10||[[Roman Gabriel]]||NC State||10||284||1340||92
|}
<ref name=p81>{{cite book|title=Official Collegiate Football Record Book|year=1961|publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association|page=81}}</ref>

'''Small college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!Player
!Team
!Games
!Plays
! Total Yds
|-
|1||Miller||Austin||9||287||'''1966'''
|-
|2||Dennis Spurlock||Whitworth||9||291||1897
|-
|3||Daniels||Bishop||10||'''354'''||1846
|-
|4||Corny Addison||Jackson||10||235||1623
|-
|5||Don Cavalli||Wagner||9||244||1556
|-
|6||Light||Pacific (OR)||9||284||1534
|-
|7||[[Joe Iacone]]||West Chester||9||199||1438
|-
|8||Johnson||Whitewater State||8||221||1385
|-
|9||Mills||NE Missouri||9||232||1343
|-
|10||Jim Luce||Augustana (SD)||8||207||1326
|}

====Passing====
The following players were the individual leaders in pass completions during the 1960 season:<br>

'''Major college'''<br>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!Player
!Team
!Games
!Compl.
!Att.
!Pct.<br>Compl.
!Yds.
!Int.
!TDs
|-
|1||[[Harold Stephens (American football)|Harold Stephens]]||[[1959 Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football team|Hardin-Simmons]]||10||'''145'''||256||.566||1254||14||3
|-
|2||[[Norm Snead]]||Wake Forest||10||123|||259||.474||'''1676'''||14||10
|-
|3||[[Mel Melin]]||Washington State||10||119||221||.538||1638||13||11
|-
|4||[[Charley Johnson]]||New Mexico State||10||109||199||.548||1511||6||13
|-
|5||[[Fran Tarkenton]]||Georgia||10||108||185||.584||1189||12||8
|-
|6||Rich Mayo||Air Force||10||108||238||.454||1168||18||7
|-
|7||[[Roman Gabriel]]||NC State||10||105||186||.565||1176||7||8
|-
|8||[[Ron Miller (American football)|Ron Miller]]||Wisconsin||9||97||188||.516||1354||16||8
|-
|9||Norman||Stanford||10||95||201||.473||1057||13||4
|-
|10||John Furman||Texas Western||10||94||192||.490||1094||7||4
|}
<ref name=p81/>

'''Small college'''<br>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!Player
!Team
!Games
!Compl.
!Att.
!Pct.<br>Compl.
!Yds.
!Int.
!TDs
|-
|1||Dennis Spurlock||Whitworth||9||135||257||.525||1892||16||14
|}

====Rushing====
The following players were the individual leaders in rushing yards during the 1960 season:<br>
'''Major college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rank
! Player
! Team
! Games
! Yds 
! Rushes
! Avg
|-
|1||[[Bob Gaiters]]||New Mexico State||10||'''1338'''||'''197'''||6.79
|-
|2||[[Tom Larscheid]]||Utah State||10||1044||'''197'''||'''8.42'''
|-
|3||[[Ernie Davis]]||Syracuse||9||877||112||7.83
|-
|4||[[Bob Ferguson (fullback)|Bob Ferguson]]||Ohio State||9||853||160||5.33
|-
|5||[[Dave Hoppman]]||Iowa State||9||844||161||5.24
|-
|6||[[Joe Bellino]]||Navy||10||834||168||4.96
|-
|7||[[Billy Kilmer]]||UCLA||10||803||163||4.93
|-
|8||Hugh Scott||Princeton||9||760||140||5.43
|-
|9||Thompson||Arizona||10||732||92||7.96
|-
|10||Alan Rozycki||Dartmouth||9||725||169||4.29
|}
<ref name=p83>1961 Official Collegiate Football Record Book, p. 83.</ref>

'''Small college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rank
! Player
! Team
! Games
! Yds 
! Rushes
! Avg
|-
|1||[[Joe Iacone]]||West Chester||9||1438||199||7.23
|-
|2||Mills||NE Missouri||9||1343||229||5.86
|-
|3||Ron Puhl||Lock Haven State||10||1269||215||5.90
|-
|4||Steve McClellan||Wooster||10||1190||236||5.04
|-
|5||Bill "Catfish" Cooper||Muskingum||9||1102||185||5.96
|}

====Receiving====
The following players were the individual leaders in receptions during the 1960 season:<br>

'''Major college'''<br>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rank
! Player
! Team
! Games
! Receptions
! Receiving<br>Yards
! Touchdowns
|-
|1||[[Hugh Campbell]]||Washington State||10||66||881||10
|-
|2||Claude "Tee" Moorman||Duke||10||46||431||2
|-
|3||Del Williams||Texas Western||10||36||414||2
|-
|4||[[Bob Coolbaugh]]||Richmond||10||35||380||2
|-
|5||Joe Kehoe||Virginia||10||34||378||2
|-
|6||Reg Carolan||Idaho||10||33||498||3
|-
|7||Brown||Georgia||10||31||275||3
|-
|8||[[Tom Hutchinson (American football)|Tom Hutchinson]]||Kentucky||10||30||455|4
|-
|9||[[E.A. Sims]]||New Mexico State||10||30||415||2
|-
|9||[[Bobby Crespino]]||Ole Miss||10||30||408||4
|-
|9||[[Gary Collins (American football)|Gary Collins]]||Maryland||10||30||404||4
|}
<ref name=p81/>

'''Small college'''<br>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rank
! Player
! Team
! Games
! Receptions
! Receiving<br>Yards
! Touchdowns
|-
|1||Ken Gregory||Whittier|10||74||1018||4
|}

====Scoring====
The following players were the individual leaders in scoring during the 1960 season:<br>

'''Major college'''<br>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rank
! Player
! Team
! Pts
! TD
! PAT
! FG
|- 
|1||[[Bob Gaiters]]||New Mexico State||'''145'''||'''23'''||7||0
|-
|2||[[Joe Bellino]]||Navy||110||18||2||0
|-
|3||Jones||Arizona State||93||8||27||6
|-
|4||[[Tom Larscheid]]||Utah State||92||15||2||0
|-
|5||[[Pervis Atkins]]||New Mexico State||80||12||8||0
|-
|6||[[Bob Ferguson (fullback)|Bob Ferguson]]||Ohio State||78||13||0||0
|-
|6||Tom Mason||Tulane||78||13||0||0
|-
|6||Smith||Missouri||78||13||0||0
|-
|9||[[Hugh Campbell]]||Washington State||76||11||10||0
|-
|9||Joe Hernandez||Arizona||76||12||4||0
|-
|11||Dyer||VMI||72||12||0||0
|-
|12||Wilburn Hollis||Iowa||68||11||2||0
|-
|12||Kern||VMI||68||10||8||0
|-
|14||George Fleming||Washington||65||5||23||4
|-
|15||[[Ed Dyas]]||Auburn||63||2||12||13
|-
|16||[[Ernie Davis]]||Syracuse||62||10||2||0
|-
|16||Johnson||San Jose State||62||11 [sic?]||2||0
|-
|18||Tom Watkins||Iowa State||60||10||0||0
|-
|18||Bob Blanchard||Yale||60||8||12||0
|-
|18||Scott||College of Pacific||60||10||0||0
|}
<ref name=p82>1961 Official Collegiate Football Record Book, p. 82.</ref>

'''Small college'''<br>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rank
! Player
! Team
! Pts
! TD
! PAT
! FG
|- 
|1||[[Bill Cooper (American football)|Bill Cooper]]||Muskingum||'''152'''||'''23'''||14||0
|-
|2||Herb Sutton||Ottawa||125||17||23||0
|-
|3||Jim Vogt||Northern State (SD)||121||14||37||0
|-
|4||Cecil Stephens||Humboldt State||120||20||0||0
|-
|5||[[Dale Mills]]||NE Missouri||118||18||10||0
|-
|6||[[Leroy Jackson]]||Western Illinois||112||18||4||0
|-
|6||[[J. R. Bishop]]||Franklin||112||14||28||0
|-
|8||Steve McClellan||Wooster||108||17||6||0
|-
|8||[[Dale Messer]]||Fresno State||108||18||0||0
|-
|10||Charlie Fuller||San Francisco State||104||17||2||0
|}
<ref name=p82/>

===Team===
====Total offense====
The following teams were the leaders in total offense during the 1960 season:<br>

'''Major college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rank
! Team
! Games<br>played
! Total<br>plays
! Yards<br>gained
! Yards<br>per game
|- 
|1||[[1960 New Mexico State Aggies football team|New Mexico State]]||10||670||4196||419.6
|-
|2||[[1960 Memphis State Tigers football team|Memphis State]]||10||612||3744||374.4
|-
|2||[[1960 Utah State Aggies football team|Utah State]]||10||648||3744||374.4
|-
|4||[[1960 Ole Miss Rebels football team|Ole Miss]]||10||646||3624||362.4
|-
|5||[[1960 Mississippi Southern Southerners football team|Mississippi Southern]]||10||670||3467||346.7
|-
|6||[[1960 Wyoming Cowboys football team|Wyoming]]||10||706||3333||333.3
|-
|7||[[1960 Arizona State Sun Devils football team|Arizona State]]||10||683||3331||333.1
|-
|8||[[1960 Oregon Ducks football team|Oregon]]||10||650||3311||331.1
|-
|9||[[1960 Oregon State Beavers football team|Oregon State]]||10||613||3306||330.6
|-
|10||[[1960 Washington State Cougars football team|Washington State]]||10||645||3295||329.5
|}
<ref name=p85>1961 Official Collegiate Football Record Book, p. 85.</ref>

'''Small college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rank
! Team
! Games<br>played
! Total<br>plays
! Yards<br>gained
! Yards<br>per game
|- 
|1||[[1960 Muskingum Fighting Muskies football team|Muskingum]]||9||623||4108||456.4
|-
|2||[[1960 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]||9||556||3876||430.7
|-
|3||Whitewater State||8||583||3404||425.5
|-
|4||[[1960 Willamette Bearcats football team|Willamette]]||8||581||3304||413.0
|-
|5||[[1960 Grambling Tigers football team|Grambling]]||10||581||4120||412.0
|-
|6||[[1960 Howard Bulldogs football team|Howard]]||9||534||3581||409.0
|-
|7||[[1960 West Chester Golden Rams football team|West Chester]]||9||574||408.8
|-
|8||Santa Clara||6||406||2411||401.8
|-
|9||[[1960 Fresno State Bulldogs football team|Fresno State]]||10||629||4013||401.3
|-
|10||[[1960 Adams State Indians football team|Adams State]]||8||582||3195||399.4
|}

====Scoring offense====
The following teams were the leaders in scoring offense during the 1960 season:<br>

'''Major college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!  Rank
!  Team
!  Points<br>per game
|- 
|1||[[1960 New Mexico State Aggies football team|New Mexico State]]||37.4
|-
|2||[[1960 Memphis State Tigers football team|Memphis State]]||30.3
|-
|3||[[1960 Yale Bulldogs football team|Yale]]||28.1
|-
|4||[[1960 Missouri Tigers football team|Missouri]]||27.3
|-
|5||[[1960 Ole Miss Rebels football team|Ole Miss]]||26.6
|-
|6||[[1960 Utah State Aggies football team|Utah State]]||26.1
|-
|7||[[1960 Iowa Hawkeyes football team|Iowa]]||26.0
|-
|8||[[1960 Princeton Tigers football team|Princeton]]||25.8
|-
|9||[[1960 Washington Huskies football team|Washington]]||25.5
|-
|10||[[1960 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team|Rutgers]]||25.0
|}
<ref name=p85/>

====Rushing offense====
The following teams were the leaders in rushing offense during the 1960 season:<br>

'''Major college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!  Rank
!  Team
!  Yards<br>per game
|- 
| 1||[[1960 Utah State Aggies football team|Utah State]]||312.0
|-
|2||[[1960 Memphis State Tigers football team|Memphis State]]||278.2
|-
|3||[[1960 New Mexico State Aggies football team|New Mexico State]]||263.9
|-
|4||[[1960 Syracuse Orangemen football team|Syracuse]]||256.6
|-
|5||[[1960 Wyoming Cowboys football team|Wyoming]]||255.3
|-
|6||[[1960 Iowa Hawkeyes football team|Iowa]]||253.8
|-
|7||[[1960 Missouri Tigers football team|Missouri]]||250.0
|-
|8||[[1960 Arizona State Sun Devils football team|Arizona State]]||248.9
|-
|9||[[1960 Mississippi Southern Southerners football team|Mississippi Southern]]||244.5
|-
|10||[[1960 Princeton Tigers football team|Princeton]]||236.9
|}
<ref name=p85/>

'''Small college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!  Rank
!  Team
!  Yards<br>per game
|- 
|1||[[1960 Muskingum Fighting Muskies football team|Muskingum]]||355.2
|-
|2||Huron||325.0
|-
|3||Concordia (MN)||313.7
|-
|4||[[1960 Willamette Bearcats football team|Willamette]]||305.4
|-
|5||[[1960 Ottawa Braves football team|Ottawa]]||300.3
|-
|6||[[1960 Grambling Tigers football team|Grambling]]||299.9
|-
|7||Northern State (SD)||297.3
|-
|8||Pittsburg State||296.4
|-
|9||Northeast Missouri||293.1
|-
|10||Baker||283.6
|}

====Passing offense====
The following teams were the leaders in passing offense during the 1960 season:<br>

'''Major college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!  Rank
!  Team
!  Yards<br>per game
|- 
|1||[[1960 Washington State Cougars football team|Washington State]]||185.5
|-
|2||[[1960 Wisconsin Badgers football team|Wisconsin]]||169.6
|-
|3||[[1969 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team|Wake Forest]]||169.2
|-
|4||[[1960 Kentucky Wildcats football team|Kentucky]]||163.3
|-
|5||[[1960 Baylor Bears football team|Baylor]]||161.8
|-
|6||[[1960 New Mexico State Aggies football team|New Mexico State]]||155.7
|-
|7||[[1960 Detroit Titans football team|Detroit]]||154.0
|-
|8||[[1960 San Jose State Spartans football team|San Jose State]]||153.6
|-
|9||[[1960 Denver Pioneers football team|Denver]]||148.9
|-
|10||[[1960 VMI Keydets football team|VMI]]||142.4
|}
<ref name=p85/>

'''Small college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!  Rank
!  Team
!  Yards<br>per game
|- 
|1||Whitworth||213.6
|-
|2||[[1960 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team|Jackson State]]||208.8
|-
|3||[[1960 Fresno State Bulldogs football team|Fresno State]]||194.7
|-
|4||Whittier||192.9
|-
|5||[[1960 Cal Poly Mustangs football team|Cal Poly]]||192.5
|-
|6||Pacific (OR)||188.6
|-
|7||Austin||187.6
|-
|8||Whitewater State||184.1
|-
|9||[[1960 Wagner Seahawks football team|Wagner]]||183.2
|-
|10||[[1960 Cal Poly Pomona Broncos football team|Cal Poly Pomona]]||178.3
|}

====Total defense====
The following teams were the leaders in total defense during the 1960 season:<br>

'''Major college'''<br>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rank
! Team
! Games<br>played
! Total<br>plays
! Yards<br>gained
! Yards<br>per game
|- 
|1||[[1960 Wyoming Cowboys football team|Wyoming]]||10||477||1496||149.6
|-
|2||[[1960 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]]||10||536||1576||157.6
|-
|3||[[1960 Ole Miss Rebels football team|Ole Miss]]||10||542||1686||168.6
|-
|4||[[1960 Syracuse Orangemen football team|Syracuse]]||9||520||1559||173.2
|-
|5||[[1960 Auburn Tigers football team|Auburn]]||10||526||1741||174.1
|-
|6||[[1960 Kentucky Wildcats football team|Kentucky]]||10||545||1831||183.1
|-
|7||[[1960 Kansas Jayhawks football team|Kansas]]||10||555||1872||187.2
|-
|8||[[1960 Army Cadets football team|Army]]||10||530||1916||191.6
|-
|9||[[1960 Missouri Tigers football team|Missouri]]||10||563||1943||194.3
|-
|10||[[1960 Utah State Aggies football team|Utah State]]||10||566||1945||194.5
|}
<ref name=p85/>

'''Small college'''<br>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rank
! Team
! Games<br>played
! Total<br>plays
! Yards<br>gained
! Yards<br>per game
|- 
|1||Maryland State||8||394||838||104.8
|-
|2||[[1960 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]||9||430||977||108.6
|-
|3||Livingstone||10||480||1139||113.9
|-
|4||[[1960 Delaware State Hornets football team|Delaware State]]||8||352||966||120.8
|-
|5||L.A. Pacific||7||308||861||123.0
|-
|6||Albany State||9||407||1142||126.9
|-
|7||Henderson||8||398||1033||129.1
|-
|8||Susquehanna||8||417||1059||132.4
|-
|9||Ferris Institute||8||391||1075||134.4
|-
|10||Grambling||10||464||1365||136.5
|}

====Scoring defense====
The following teams were the leaders in scoring defense during the 1960 season:<br>

'''Major college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!  Rank
!  Team
!  Points<br>per game
|- 
|1||[[1960 LSU Tigers football team|LSU]]||5.0
|-
|2||[[1960 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]]||5.3
|-
|3||[[1960 Rice Owls football team|Rice]]||5.8
|-
|4||[[1960 Ole Miss Rebels football team|Ole Miss]]||6.4
|-
|5||[[1960 Utah State Aggies football team|Utah State]]||6.5
|-
|6||[[1960 Wyoming Cowboys football team|Wyoming]]||7.1
|-
|7||[[1960 Dartmouth Indians football team|Dartmouth]]||7.3
|-
|8||[[1960 Florida Gators football team|Florida]]||7.4
|-
|9||[[1960 Texas Longhorns football team|Texas]]||7.5
|-
|10||[[1960 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team|Rutgers]]||7.7
|-
|10||[[1960 Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh]]||7.7
|}
<ref name=p85/>

====Rushing defense====
The following teams were the leaders in rushing defense during the 1960 season:<br>

'''Major college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!  Rank
!  Team
!  Yards<br>per game
|- 
|1||[[1960 Wyoming Cowboys football team|Wyoming]]||82.4
|-
|2||Utah State||84.7
|-
|3||Alabama||89.1
|-
|4||Ole Miss||89.2
|-
|5||Yale||105.0
|-
|6||Memphis State||108.0
|-
|7||Mississippi Southern||108.2
|-
|8||Missouri||109.2
|-
|9||Florida||110.5
|-
|10||Washington||111.7
|}
<ref name=p85/>

'''Small college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!  Rank
!  Team
!  Yards<br>per game
|- 
|1||[[1960 West Chester Golden Rams football team|West Chester]]||41.4
|-
|2||[[1960 Grambling Tigers football team|Grambling]]||43.1
|-
|3||[[1960 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]||43.4
|-
|4||Maryland State||44.0
|-
|5||Whitewater State||50.6
|-
|6||Norfolk State||58.1
|-
|7||Livingstone||59.6
|-
|8||Los Angeles Pacific||61.1
|-
|9||Luther||70.8
|-
|10||Albany State||71.8
|}

====Passing defense====
The following teams were the leaders in passing defense during the 1960 season:<br>

'''Major college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!  Rank
!  Team
!  Yards<br>per game
|- 
|1||[[1960 Iowa State Cyclones football team|Iowa State]]||30.2
|-
|2||Dayton||45.4
|-
|3||Kansas||48.3
|-
|4||Kentucky||52.2
|-
|5||Tennessee||53.8
|-
|6||Colorado||55.7
|-
|7||The Citadel||57.0
|-
|8||Syracuse||57.3
|-
|9||Auburn||59.0
|-
|10||Kansas State||61.9
|}
<ref name=p85/>

'''Small college'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!  Rank
!  Team
!  Yards<br>per game
|- 
|1||Susquehanna||27.3
|-
|2||Henderson State||28.9
|-
|3||Western Carolina||34.2
|-
|4||Winona State||36.1
|-
|5||[[1960 Delaware State Hornets football team|Delaware State]]||40.4
|-
|6||Western Kentucky||40.6
|-
|7||Texas Lutheran||41.6
|-
|8||Central State (OH)||42.1
|-
|9||Central (IA)||42.9
|-
|10||Ferris Institute||43.0
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{NCAA football season navbox}}
{{1960–61 NCAA University Division championships navbox}}

[[Category:1960 college football season| ]]