Greatest Longhorn Football Teams of All Time - No. 8, 1961

The 1961 Longhorns finished with a 10-1 record and the first of three-straight SWC titles

The 1961 season, also known as the season where Bevo the Longhorn made his debut on the Texas helmets, was a season where we can only imagine what could have been.

Once again, the horned frogs marched into Austin and put on a defensive clinic, upsetting the horns 6-0. Ruining a potential perfect season, the loss to TCU proved to revoke any hope of a national title.

Following the loss, coach Darrell Royal spoke about how “history proves that the lowest team in the conference can rise up and defeat the leader. It has happened time and time again and that’s why I really wasn’t too surprised when we got beat by TCU last season.”

Texas rebounded well, winning its last two games against Texas A&M in the season finale and the No. 5 ranked Ole Miss Rebels in the Cotton Bowl. Quarterback, Mike Cotton, ended up winning the Cotton Bowl Most Valuable Player award.

It ended up being another quite successful season for the Longhorns, finishing at 10-1 and winning its first of three straight Southwest Conference titles.

This is a series counting down the 10 greatest Texas Longhorn football teams of all time. Be sure to check out the first two entries by clicking below. 

No. 10 - 2009 

No. 9 - 1972 

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