1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

Schedule

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Roster

Coaching staff

Game summaries

Oregon

The Nebraska reserves were on the field in the 4th quarter, working under a comfortable 34–0 lead, when a fumbled punt allowed Oregon to put in a late score to avoid the shutout with 3 minutes to play.

The Blackshirt Defense stymied the Ducks' highly-touted passing attack of Dan Fouts to Bobby Moore, who changed his name to Ahmad Rashad in 1973.

Two days later, Nebraska vaulted Notre Dame for the No. 1 spot in the polls and never relinquished it.

Minnesota

Minnesota managed a 2nd-quarter touchdown, but the game was never really in doubt as Nebraska extended their unbeaten streak to 21 games in what would be Golden Gopher coach Murray Warmath's last meeting vs. the Cornhuskers.

Texas A&M

Two huge plays left Nebraska's signature on the Texas A&M win, as Johnny Rodgers tore off a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and Bill Kosch returned an interception 95 yards for a score of his own. The Aggies also managed a big score for their only points, an equally-impressive 94-yard kickoff return touchdown.

Utah State

Utah State was behind 0–35 when they managed to avoid the shutout with a 3rd-quarter touchdown, but the PAT was blocked. The Cornhuskers ran the margin of victory back up again with a final fourth-quarter touchdown.

Missouri

Nebraska was held scoreless for over 20 minutes, but Missouri, on its way to a 1–10 season under first-year coach Al Onofrio, eventually succumbed to the pressure as Nebraska then ran up 36 points and shut out the Tigers in Columbia.

Kansas

Nebraska smashed Kansas at Homecoming for another shutout, holding the Jayhawks, whose offense was left barren following the graduation of John Riggins, to 56 yards, barely more than one tenth of the Cornhuskers' 538 yards.

Oklahoma State

All of Oklahoma State's entire scoring was picked up in the last 2 minutes against Nebraska reserves, making the game appear closer than it was, if 41–13 can be called close.

The Cowboys' Floyd Gass was the fourth coach to oppose the 1971 Cornhuskers who would not be in the same position in 1972. The others were Jerry Frei (Oregon), Murray Warmath (Minnesota) and Gene Stallings (Texas A&M).

Colorado

Nebraska rolled right out to a 24–0 lead by halftime and was cruising against #9 Colorado, which previously won in hostile environments at LSU and Ohio State, without much effort. The Buffaloes did manage a 3rd-quarter touchdown on a broken play, but Nebraska matched it and easily held on for the win.

Iowa State

The Cornhuskers held Iowa State to just 105 yards of offense and had no trouble holding the Sun Bowl-bound Cyclones off the scoreboard for another shutout.

Kansas State

Nebraska QB Jerry Tagge became the first Cornhusker to exceed 5000 career yards at Kansas State as Nebraska scored touchdowns on each of its first four possessions. Johnny Rodgers also entered the record book with his 10-season touchdown receptions, 45 receptions on the season, and 84 receptions for his career. No other team managed to score so many points on Nebraska this season as did the Wildcats, but another convincing win was behind them as Nebraska prepared for a showdown with #2 Oklahoma (which decimated K-State's defense for 75 points three weeks earlier) to decide the Big 8 title and potentially the national championship.

Oklahoma

Main article: 1971 Nebraska vs. Oklahoma football game

and Bill Flemming (sideline) Oklahoma and Nebraska battled back and forth in the Game of the Century in front of a sold-out crowd in Norman and over 55 million viewers on ABC-TV on Thanksgiving Day. Nebraska struck first with a 72-yard Johnny Rodgers punt return, but Oklahoma pulled ahead by 3 by halftime. The Cornhuskers came back strong in the third quarter with two more touchdowns, but the Sooners responded with two of their own to retake the lead with only 7:10 remaining. Down by 3 points, the Huskers went on a final drive and with only 1:38 remaining, Jeff Kinney scored his fourth touchdown of the day for the lead and the win.

Hawaii

Almost 1/3 of the fans in the relatively sparse crowd were dressed in red and rooting for the Cornhuskers, as Nebraska handily won this game almost as an afterthought to the vacation in Honolulu. It was 24–3 at the half, and Hawaii never saw the scoreboard again.

The victory wrapped up the UPI coaches poll national championship for the Cornhuskers. The UPI did not conduct a post-bowl poll until 1974.

Alabama

In the 1972 Orange Bowl, the Huskers battled a #2 team for the second time this season, but Alabama hardly posed the challenge that the Oklahoma Sooners had been, as Nebraska sent the Crimson Tide to the locker room at the half trailing by an embarrassing 28–0.

Alabama managed a feeble third-quarter touchdown but failed in the following 2-point conversion and never scored again, while Nebraska responded with 10 more points of their own to close the game and ended the season as national champions for the second consecutive year and exact revenge for losses to Alabama in the 1966 Orange Bowl and 1967 Sugar Bowl.

Rankings

Awards

Jerry Tagge finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 1971, teammate Johnny Rodgers would win in 1972.

1971 team players in the NFL

The 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers seniors selected in the 1972 NFL draft:

The 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers juniors selected in the following year's 1973 NFL draft:

The 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers sophomores selected in the 1974 NFL draft:

NFL and pro players

The following is a list of 1971 Nebraska players who joined a professional team as draftees or free agents.

References

References

1. "Best college football teams of all time". ESPN Page 2.
2. Decourcey, Mike. (14 January 2020). "CFB 150: Top 10 teams in college football history". [[Sporting News]].
3. "Football – 1971 Schedule/Results". University of Nebraska–Lincoln Athletics Department.
4. (September 12, 1971). "Nebraska overpowers Oregon for 20th consecutive grid victory". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
5. (September 19, 1971). "No. 1 Nebraska routs Gophers 35–7". Chicago Tribune.
6. (September 26, 1971). "Howling 'Huskers ax Aggies 34–7". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
7. (October 3, 1971). "Top ranked Cornhuskers topple Utah State 42–6". The El Paso Times.
8. (October 10, 1971). "Nebraska moves past Missouri Tigers, 36–0". The Sioux City Journal.
9. (October 17, 1971). "Huskers use defense to crush Kansas, 55–0". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
10. (October 24, 1971). "Kinney, Rodgers spark Huskers 41–13". Rapid City Journal.
11. (October 31, 1971). "Cornhuskers conk Buffs". The News and Observer.
12. (November 7, 1971). "Nebraska too much for Iowa State, 37–0". The Arizona Republic.
13. (November 14, 1971). "Huskers overcome poor defense 44–17". The Daily Nonpareil.
14. (November 26, 1971). "Kinney, 'Huskers knock stuffing out of Sooners". The Duluth News Tribune.
15. (December 6, 1971). "Cornhuskers club Hawaiians, 45–3". The Clarion-Ledger.
16. Reed, Delbert. (January 2, 1972). "Cornhuskers kill Crimson Tide dream, 38–6". The Tuscaloosa News.
17. . ["Schedule/Results (1971 Nebraska)"](https://stats.ncaa.org/teams/130837). *[[National Collegiate Athletic Association]]*.
18. "1971 Football Roster".
19. (October 15, 1971). "Probable starters". Lawrence Daily Journal-World.
20. (November 25, 1971). "Probable starters". Lawrence Daily Journal-World.
21. (January 1, 1972). "Orange Bowl". Tuscaloosa News.
22. (November 26, 1971). "'Huskers dump Sooners". Eugene Register-Guard.
23. (November 26, 1971). "Kinney leads Nebraska triumph". Spokesman-Review.
24. Jenkins, Dan. (December 6, 1971). "Nebraska rides high".
25. [http://www.huskermax.com/honors/honors_1971.html 1971 Husker Honors]
26. [http://www.heisman.com/winners/p-sullivan71.php Heisman.com] {{webarchive. link. (2009-12-15 – Pat Sullivan – 1971)
27. [http://www.heisman.com/winners/j-rodgers72.php Heisman.com] {{webarchive. link. (2011-11-08 – Johnny Rodgers – 1972)
28. "1972 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com".
29. "1973 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com".
30. "1974 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com".
31. "All Time NFL Huskers".