1971 NCAA University Division football season


The 1971 NCAA University Division football season saw Coach Bob Devaney's Nebraska Cornhuskers repeat as national champions. Ranked a close second behind Notre Dame in the preseason poll, Nebraska moved up to first place the following week, remained there for the rest of 1971, and convincingly won the Orange Bowl in a #1 vs. #2 game against Alabama.
Prior to the 1971 season, two programs were elevated to the University Division. The new programs were Temple and Texas–Arlington. The change brought the total number of programs in the University Division to 119.
During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for major college football in its University Division. The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the "wire service" polls. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press . Prior to the 1974 season, the UPI issued its final poll before the bowls, but since the 1968 season, the AP Trophy was withheld until the postseason was completed. The AP poll in 1971 consisted of the votes of as many as 55 sportswriters, though not all of them voted in every poll. Those who cast votes would give their opinion of the ten best teams. Under a point system of 20 points for first place, 19 for second, etc., the "overall" ranking was determined.

Rule changes

School1970 Conference1971 Conference
Bradley BravesIndependentDropped Program
Buffalo BullsIndependentDropped Program
Drake BulldogsIndependentMissouri Valley
Louisiana Tech BulldogsGulf StatesSouthland
Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' CajunsGulf StatesSouthland
South Carolina GamecocksACCIndependent
West Texas State BuffaloesIndependentMissouri Valley

Regular season

September

In the preseason poll released on September 6, Notre Dame was ranked #1, with defending champion Nebraska was second. Nebraska had more first place votes than Notre Dame, but fewer points overall. Texas, Michigan and USC rounded out the Top Five. The poll was 1.Notre Dame 2.Nebraska 3.Texas 4.Michigan 5.USC
September 10–11
On Friday night in Los Angeles, Alabama beat #5 USC, 17–10, marking a successful debut for Bear Bryant's new Wishbone offense. The next day, #2 Nebraska won its opener at home, 34–7 over Oregon. #4 Michigan won 21–6 at #20 Northwestern. Notre Dame and Texas did not start their seasons until the following week. In the poll that followed, Nebraska received 31 of the 50 first place votes, while Ohio State took USC's #5 spot.
The poll was 1.Nebraska 2.Notre Dame 3.Texas 4.Michigan 5.Ohio State
September 18
Nebraska beat Minnesota 35–7, and #3 Texas won its opener 28–10 at UCLA. #2 Notre Dame opened with 50–7 win over Northwestern, #4 Michigan shut out Virginia and #6 Auburn beat UT-Chattanooga ; they moved up to #5, as idle Ohio State dropped to sixth.
Poll: 1.Nebraska 2.Notre Dame 3.Texas 4.Michigan 5.Auburn
September 25
Nebraska beat Texas A&M, 34–7, and #3 Texas beat Texas Tech 28–0. #2 Notre Dame narrowly won at Purdue, 8–7, and #4 Michigan beat visiting UCLA, 38–0. #6 Ohio State lost 20–14 to visiting #10 Colorado. #5 Auburn edged #9 Tennessee at home, 10–9. Michigan and Notre Dame traded places in the poll that followed.
Poll: 1.Nebraska 2.Michigan 3.Texas 4.Notre Dame 5.Auburn

October

October 2
Fifteen of the Top 20 teams remained unbeaten, including the Top 12. Nebraska handled Utah State in Lincoln, 42–6, while #2 Michigan registered its third straight shutout at home, beating Navy 46–0. #3 Texas defeated Oregon 35–7, #4 Notre Dame beat Michigan State 14–2, and fell to seventh in the next poll. #5 Auburn beat Kentucky 38–6, and #6 Colorado rose to fifth after beating Kansas State 31–21.
Poll: 1.Nebraska 2.Michigan 3.Texas 4.Auburn 5.Colorado
October 9
The top 9 teams improved their records to 4–0 or 5–0. In their first Big Eight conference game and first on the road, #1 Nebraska shut out Missouri 36–0. #3 Texas lost to #8 Oklahoma in their rivlary game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, 48–27, while #2 Michigan won at Michigan State, 24–13. #4 Auburn beat 27–14, and #5 Colorado won 24–14 at
Iowa State, but dropped in the poll to sixth, while #6 Alabama won 42–0 at Vanderbilt and rose to fourth. Texas dropped to tenth place, while Oklahoma rose to second.
The poll: 1.Nebraska 2.Oklahoma 3.Michigan 4.Alabama 5.Auburn
October 16
Top-ranked Nebraska crushed Kansas 55–0, raising its record to 6–0 and outscoring its opposition 238–27. #2 Oklahoma beat visiting #6 Colorado 45–17 and #3 Michigan beat Illinois 35–6. #4 Alabama beat #14 Tennessee 32–15 at Birmingham and #5 Auburn won over Georgia Tech in Atlanta, 31–14. Eight teams had records of 5–0 or 6–0.
The next poll: 1.Nebraska 2.Oklahoma 3.Michigan 4.Alabama 5.Auburn 6.Notre Dame 7.Penn State 8.Georgia.
October 23
Seven of the top 8 teams stayed unbeaten, playing unranked opponents. #1 Nebraska allowed Oklahoma State to reach double digits, but easily won at Stillwater, 41–13. #2 Oklahoma decimated Kansas State 75–28 in Manhattan. #3 Michigan won 35–7 at Minnesota, #4 Alabama hosted Houston, and #5 Auburn beat Clemson 35–13. #6 Notre Dame lost to visiting USC, 28–14. #7 Penn State walloped visiting TCU 66–14, #8 Georgia beat Kentucky at home, 34–0.
Poll: 1.Nebraska 2.Oklahoma 3.Michigan 4.Alabama 5.Auburn 6.Penn State 7. Georgia
October 30
Number one Nebraska handed visiting #9 Colorado a 31–7 defeat, and #2 Oklahoma beat Iowa State 43–12. #3 Michigan rolled over Indiana 61–7, and #4 Alabama beat Mississippi State 41–10 at Jackson. #5 Auburn beat Florida 40–7, #6 Penn State won 35–7 at West Virginia, and #7 Georgia recorded its third consecutive shutout, 24–0 at South Carolina.
All of the aforementioned games were overshadowed by the death of TCU head coach Jim Pittman, who suffered a massive heart attack during the Horned Frogs' rivalry game with Baylor in Waco. TCU somehow overcame its grief to oust the Bears 34–27. Pittman was in his first season at Fort Worth after five seasons at Tulane, where he guided the Green Wave to an 8–4 record in his final season of 1970, capped off by a 17–3 victory over Colorado in the Liberty Bowl. The top seven all stayed unbeaten and the poll was unchanged:
1.Nebraska 2.Oklahoma 3.Michigan 4.Alabama 5.Auburn 6.Penn State 7.Georgia

November

November 6
Nebraska beat Iowa State 37–0 and #2 Oklahoma won 20-3 at Missouri. #3 Michigan crushed Iowa, 63–7, and #4 Alabama won at #18 LSU, 14–7. #5 Auburn beat Mississippi State 30–21, #6 Penn State won 63–27 over Maryland, and #7 Georgia beat Florida at Jacksonville. As the Top 7 teams extended their undefeated records, the poll stayed unchanged:
1.Nebraska 2.Oklahoma 3.Michigan 4.Alabama 5.Penn State 6.Auburn 7.Georgia
November 13
Nebraska won at Kansas State 44–17, and #2 Oklahoma beat Kansas 56–10. #3 Michigan narrowly won at Purdue, 20–17, and #4 Alabama defeated the visiting Miami Hurricanes, 31–3. #5 Auburn and #7 Georgia met at Athens, with the Auburn winning a decisive 35–20 victory. #6 Penn State beat North Carolina State 35–3.
Poll: 1.Nebraska 2.Oklahoma 3.Michigan 4.Alabama 5.Auburn 6.Penn State
November 20
Four of the top five teams were idle. #1 Nebraska and #2 Oklahoma prepared for their Thanksgiving Day meeting in Norman, while #4 Alabama and #5 Auburn prepared for their season closer in the Iron Bowl in Birmingham. #3 Michigan defeated Ohio State, to win the Big 10 title and earn the Rose Bowl berth, and #6 Penn State won at Pittsburgh
Poll: 1.Nebraska 2.Oklahoma 3.Michigan 4.Alabama 5.Auburn 6.Penn State
November 25–27
As the regular season neared its close, Big Eight rivals Nebraska and Oklahoma were unbeaten, as were SEC rivals Alabama and Auburn, and Big Ten champ Michigan. On Thanksgiving Day, #1 Nebraska and #2 Oklahoma met on the Sooners' field in a game that would determine the Big Eight title, the #1 ranking, and a trip to the Orange Bowl in Miami. In the decade's Game of the Century, Nebraska won a classic back-and-forth battle 35–31; Husker I-back Jeff Kinney scored his fourth and game-deciding touchdown with 98 seconds left, capping a 5½-minute, 74-yard drive. The loss dropped Oklahoma behind the unbeatens into fifth place in the polls.
Later that weekend, #4 Alabama and #5 Auburn played their annual season-ender at Birmingham, with Alabama handing the Tigers their first loss, as a result of this impressive win, Alabama jumped over Michigan. As SEC champion, Alabama was invited to, but not obligated to play in, the Sugar Bowl; they deferred and accepted a bid to play top-ranked Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Auburn went to the Sugar Bowl instead, to face Oklahoma in a meeting of conference runners-up. #6 Penn State was idle, but moved up two places.
The next poll: 1.Nebraska 2.Alabama 3.Michigan 4.Penn State 5.Oklahoma

December

December 4
Nebraska had NCAA permission to play a twelfth game... in Hawaii; they beat the Rainbows and ended the regular season at #4 Penn State faced #12 Tennessee at Knoxville but lost #5 Oklahoma's season ender was in state at Stillwater against Oklahoma State, which the Sooners easily won The final regular season poll:
1.Nebraska 2.Alabama 3.Michigan 4.Oklahoma 5.Auburn. 6. Colorado

Conference standings

Bowl games

Major bowls

Saturday, January 1, 1972
BOWLWinnerScoreRunner-up
COTTON#10 Penn State Nittany Lions30–6#12 Texas Longhorns
SUGAR#3 Oklahoma Sooners40–22#5 Auburn Tigers
ROSE#16 Stanford Indians ^13–12#4 Michigan Wolverines
ORANGE#1 Nebraska Cornhuskers38–6#2 Alabama Crimson Tide

^ Last game in which Stanford used nickname "Indians"; it was changed to "Cardinals" early in 1972, and to the singular "Cardinal" in 1982.
With #1 Nebraska slated to play #2 Alabama in the Orange Bowl on New Year's night, there was little suspense as to which game or games would decide the national title. #3 Michigan held out the slim hope that, if they handily defeated Stanford while Nebraska or Alabama barely won or tied, they could leapfrog both teams into the top position. For the second year in a row in the Rose Bowl, underdog Stanford rallied to defeat the undefeated Big Ten champion, besting Michigan 13–12 on a last second field goal by Rod Garcia.
In the final game of the day, Nebraska walloped Alabama in the Orange Bowl to claim its second straight national title. Earlier in the day at the Sugar Bowl, Oklahoma intercepted Heisman Trophy winner three times and easily handled Auburn and regained the runner-up ranking in the final poll. With bowl losses by #2 Alabama, #3 Michigan, and #5 Auburn, sixth-ranked Colorado, winner of the Bluebonnet Bowl, rose to third. The Big Eight occupied the top three spots in the final AP poll, with Nebraska receiving all 55 first place votes; Oklahoma was second, and Colorado climbed to third. This was the first time that two teams from the same conference topped the final poll, and it remains as the only time that a conference had the top three.
  1. Nebraska, 1100, 13–0
  2. Oklahoma, 990, 11–1
  3. Colorado, 746, 10–2
  4. Alabama, 674, 11–1
  5. Penn State, 666, 11–1
  6. Michigan, 479, 11–1
  7. Georgia, 471, 11–1
  8. Arizona State, 414, 11–1
  9. Tennessee, 379, 10–2
  10. Stanford, 347, 9–3
Source

Other bowls

  1. Pat Sullivan, QB – Auburn, 1,597 points
  2. Ed Marinaro, RB – Cornell, 1,445
  3. Greg Pruitt, RB – Oklahoma, 586 –
  4. Johnny Musso, RB – Alabama, 365
  5. Lydell Mitchell, RB – Penn State, 251
  6. Jack Mildren, QB – Oklahoma, 208
  7. Jerry Tagge, QB – Nebraska, 168
  8. Chuck Ealey, QB – Toledo, 137
  9. Walt Patulski, DE – Notre Dame, 121
  10. Eric Allen, RB – Michigan State, 109
Source: