1971 NCAA football season

1971 NCAA University Division football season
Preseason AP #1	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Regular season	September 10 – December 4, 1971
Number of bowls	12
Bowl games	December 18, 1971 – January 1, 1972
Heisman	Pat Sullivan, Auburn QB
← 1970 College football seasons 1972 →

1971 ACC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
North Carolina $		6	–	0					9	–	3
Clemson		5	–	2					5	–	6
Duke		3	–	3					6	–	5
Wake Forest		2	–	4					6	–	5
Virginia		2	–	4					3	–	8
NC State		2	–	5					3	–	8
Maryland		1	–	5					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1971 Big 8 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#1 Nebraska $	7	–	0	–	0			13	–	0	–	0
#2 Oklahoma	6	–	1	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
#3 Colorado	5	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Iowa State	4	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Kansas State	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Oklahoma State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	1
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Missouri	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1971 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#6 Michigan $	8	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
Northwestern	6	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Ohio State	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Michigan State	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Illinois	5	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	1
Minnesota	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Indiana	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Iowa	1	–	8	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1971 NCAA University Division independents football records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#5 Penn State			–					11	–	1	–	0
Boston College			–					9	–	2	–	0
#17 Houston			–					9	–	3	–	0
#13 Notre Dame			–					8	–	2	–	0
Utah State			–					8	–	3	–	0
Florida State			–					8	–	4	–	0
Cincinnati			–					7	–	4	–	0
West Virginia			–					7	–	4	–	0
Temple			–					6	–	2	–	1
Air Force			–					6	–	4	–	0
Army			–					6	–	4	–	0
Colgate			–					6	–	4	–	0
Villanova			–					6	–	4	–	1
South Carolina			–					6	–	5	–	0
Southern Miss			–					6	–	5	–	0
Georgia Tech			–					6	–	6	–	0
New Mexico State			–					5	–	5	–	1
Northern Illinois			–					5	–	5	–	1
Syracuse			–					5	–	5	–	1
Dayton			–					5	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					4	–	7	–	0
Rutgers			–					4	–	7	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					4	–	7	–	0
Navy			–					3	–	8	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					3	–	8	–	0
Tulane			–					3	–	8	–	0
Xavier			–					1	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

1971 Ivy League football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Dartmouth +	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
Cornell +	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
Columbia	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Harvard	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Yale	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Princeton	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Penn	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Brown	0	–	7	–	0			0	–	9	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1971 Mid-American Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#14 Toledo $	5	–	0	–	0			12	–	0	–	0
Bowling Green	4	–	1	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Western Michigan	2	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Miami (OH)	2	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Ohio	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Kent State	0	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1971 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
North Texas State $	3	–	1	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Drake	2	–	1	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Memphis State	2	–	1	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Tulsa	2	–	1	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Louisville	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	1
West Texas State	1	–	2	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Wichita State	0	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1971 Pacific-8 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#10 Stanford $	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
#20 USC	3	–	2	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
#19 Washington	4	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
California	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Oregon State	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Oregon	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Washington State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
UCLA	1	–	4	–	1			2	–	7	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1971 Pacific Coast Athletic Association football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Long Beach State $	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
San Jose State	4	–	1	–	0			5	–	6	–	1
Fresno State	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
San Diego State	2	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
UC Santa Barbara	2	–	3	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Pacific (CA)	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Cal State Los Angeles	0	–	3	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

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 38–6 in a #1 vs. #2 game against Alabama.

During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for major college football in its University Division (now the Football Bowl Subdivision in Division I). The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press (AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by United Press International) (UPI). 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.

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 (26) than Notre Dame (15), but fewer points overall (870 vs. 885). Texas, Michigan and USC rounded out the Top Five. The poll was 1.Notre Dame 2.Nebraska 3.Texas 4.Michigan 5.USC

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