1971 NCAA College Division football season


The 1971 NCAA College Division football season was the 16th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the NCAA College Division level.

Conference standings

Rankings

College Division teams were ranked in polls by the AP and by UPI. The national champion for each season were determined by the final poll rankings, published at or near the end of the regular season, before any bowl games were played.

College Division final polls

, who during the regular season had defeated Rutgers, Villanova, and, averaged 40 points per game, and had a 9–1 record, was ranked first by both UPI and AP; both polls also ranked second, and Eastern Michigan third.
United Press International final poll
Published on November 24
RankSchoolRecordNo. 1
votes		Total
points
1Delaware9–120306
29–0–15267
3Eastern Michigan7–0–23238
4Tennessee State8–11185
58–1130
611–095
78–178
88–1–1275
9Louisiana Tech8–274
109–1–148

Associated Press final poll
Published on November 24
RankSchoolRecordNo. 1
votes		Total
points
1Delaware9–19256
29–0–13233
3Eastern Michigan7–0–2201
4Louisiana Tech8–2153
5Tennessee State8–11150
6Western Kentucky8–296
7Boise State9–292
8Akron8–291
9North Dakota6–3–172
1011–046

Bowl games

The postseason consisted of four bowl games as regional finals, all played on December 11. This was the first year for the Pioneer Bowl; it succeeded the Pecan Bowl, which had been played in Arlington, Texas.
Top-ranked Delaware met in the Boardwalk Bowl; played indoors at Convention Hall, Delaware won by 50 points in a rout. The next two teams in the polls both lost; Eastern Michigan was defeated by Louisiana Tech in the Pioneer Bowl, and fell to Tennessee State—led by future National Football League quarterback Joe Gilliam—in the Grantland Rice Bowl. Out west in the Camellia Bowl, Boise State mounted a 25–0 fourth quarter comeback to defeat Chico State.