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1971 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

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1971 Arkansas Razorbacks football
Liberty Bowl, L 14–13 vs. Tennessee
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 20
APNo. 16
Record8–3–1 (5–1–1 SWC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDon Breaux (2nd season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Captains
  • David Hogue
  • Ronnie Jones
  • Mike Kelson
  • Kay Maybry
  • Bobby Nichols
Home stadiumRazorback Stadium
War Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1970
1972 →
1971 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 18 Texas $ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 16 Arkansas 5 – 1 – 1 8 – 3 – 1
TCU 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 1
Texas A&M 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
SMU 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Rice 2 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1
Texas Tech 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Baylor 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas in the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. In their 14th year under head coach Frank Broyles, the Razorbacks compiled an 8–3–1 record (5–1–1 against SWC opponents), finished in second place behind Texas in the SWC, and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 356 to 169.[1] The team finished the season ranked No. 16 in the final AP poll and No. 20 in the final UPI Coaches Poll and went on to lose the 1971 Liberty Bowl to Tennessee by a 14–13 score.

The Razorbacks assumed the driver's seat for their first trip to the Cotton Bowl Classic since 1965 following a 31–7 rout of archrival Texas in Little Rock, but followed that by losing at home to Texas A&M and tying lowly Rice on the road, allowing the Longhorns to regain the Southwest Conference lead and go on to their fourth consecutive conference championship.

Kicker Bill McClard was an All American. McClard also averaged 6.5 points per game, the seventh best average nationally. Razorback quarterback Joe Ferguson was eighth in the nation in completions per game, with 14.5. Mike Reppond averaged 5.6 receptions per game, the fourth highest average during 1971. As an offense, Arkansas averaged 211.5 yards per game, the highest in the SWC, and eighth-highest in college football. Arkansas was seventh in total offense, with a total of 4898 yards over 11 games.

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 11California*No. 7
W 51–2054,176[2]
September 18Oklahoma State*No. 6
  • War Memorial Stadium
  • Little Rock, AR
W 31–1054,176[3][4]
September 25Tulsa*No. 7
L 20–2141,742[5]
October 2TCUNo. 18
  • Razorback Stadium
  • Fayetteville, AR
W 49–1541,100[6]
October 9at BaylorNo. 17
W 35–733,000[7]
October 16No. 10 TexasNo. 16
  • War Memorial Stadium
  • Little Rock, AR (rivalry)
ABCW 31–754,446[8]
October 23North Texas State*No. 9
  • Razorback Stadium
  • Fayetteville, AR
W 60–2138,135[9]
October 30Texas A&MNo. 8
  • Razorback Stadium
  • Fayetteville, AR (rivalry)
L 9–1754,446[10]
November 6at RiceNo. 16
T 24–2432,000[11]
November 13at SMUNo. 17
ABCW 18–1330,773[12]
November 20Texas TechNo. 17
  • Razorback Stadium
  • Fayetteville, AR (rivalry)
W 15–043,000[13]
December 20No. 9 Tennessee*No. 18
ABCL 13–1451,410[14]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[15]

Liberty Bowl

[edit]
1 2 3 4 Total
#18 Razorbacks 0 7 0 6 13
#9 Volunteers 7 0 0 7 14

The 1971 Liberty Bowl matched up Arkansas with Tennessee. The Volunteers took the lead first, with a two-yard run by Bill Rudder. The Hogs responded with a 36-yard TD strike from Joe Ferguson to Jim Hodge. Scoring wouldn't resume until the fourth quarter, when Razorback Bill McClard kicked 19- and 30-yard field goals. A third McClard kick was good, set up by Louis Campbell's third interception, but a penalty kept the Hogs off the board a fourth time. Arkansas fumbled at their own 36-yard line, and Tennessee's Curt Watson scored three plays later.

Roster

[edit]
1971 Arkansas Razorbacks football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 11 Joe Ferguson Jr
OT 78 Mike Kelson Sr
WR 26 Mike Reppond Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DT 63 Roger Harnish Sr
DE 89 Dave Reavis Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 19 Bill McClard Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1971 Arkansas Razorbacks Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  2. ^ "Razorbacks rack California, 51–20". San Angelo Standard-Times. September 12, 1971. Retrieved March 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Hall, Howard P. (September 19, 1971). "Kalamazoo College Annihilates Adrian". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. p. 1D, 3D. Retrieved March 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  4. ^ "Arkansas throttles Cowboys". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 19, 1971. Retrieved March 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Tulsa whirlwind engulfs Razorbacks' clean machine". The Commercial Appeal. September 26, 1971. Retrieved March 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Arkansas takes out wrath on TCU, 49–15". Tulsa Daily World. October 3, 1971. Retrieved March 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Arkansas batters Baylor, 35–7". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. October 10, 1971. Retrieved March 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Ooooo,,Piggg..Sooie! Porkers 31, Steers 7". The Shreveport Times. October 17, 1971. Retrieved March 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Hogs blast Eagles 60–21". Casper Star-Tribune. October 24, 1971. Retrieved October 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Texas A&M shocks Arkansas". Lincoln Journal Star. October 31, 1971. Retrieved March 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "'Hogs escape with deadlock". The Odessa American. November 7, 1971. Retrieved March 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Razorbacks eke out win over SMU, 18–13". The Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph. November 14, 1971. Retrieved March 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Nelson, Saint pace Arkansas' 15–0 win". The Orange Leader. November 21, 1971. Retrieved March 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Vols take Liberty". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 21, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "1971–72 NCAA Statistics (Arkansas)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
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