| 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers football | |||
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National
Champions Big 8 Champions |
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| Orange Bowl, W 38-6 vs #2 Alabama | |||
| Conference | Big Eight | ||
| Ranking | |||
| Coaches | #1 - December 7th | ||
| AP | #1 | ||
| 1971 record | 13-0 (7-0 Big 8) | ||
| Head coach | Bob Devaney | ||
| Offensive coordinator | Tom Osborne | ||
| Offensive scheme | I formation | ||
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Home stadium |
Memorial Stadium | ||
Seasons
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| 1971 Big 8 Football standings | ||||||||||||
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||
| #1 / 1 Nebraska | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 13 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||
| #2 / 3 Oklahoma | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||
| #3 / 7 Colorado | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||
| #NR / 17 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 | ||
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The 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska in the 1971 college football season. Nebraska was coached by Bob Devaney and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. The Huskers were undefeated at 13-0, repeating as national champions.
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The 1971 Cornhuskers were one of the most dominant teams in college football history, winning twelve of their thirteen games by 24 points (or more) and defeating the next three teams in the final AP poll. The sole close game of the season was the Game of the Century at #2 Oklahoma on Thanksgiving. Nebraska decisively beat #3 Colorado (then #9) 31-7 in Lincoln and #4 Alabama (then #2) 38-6 in the 1972 Orange Bowl in Miami. [1]
| Date | Time | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 11* | Oregon | #2 | Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska |
W 34-7 | 67,437 | ||
| September 18* | Minnesota | #1 | Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska |
W 35-7 | 68,187 | ||
| September 25* | Texas A&M | #1 | Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska |
W 34-7 | 67,993 | ||
| October 2* | Utah State | #1 | Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska |
W 42-6 | 67,421 | ||
| October 9 | at Missouri | #1 | Faurot
Field • Columbia, Missouri |
W 36-0 | 61,200 | ||
| October 16† | Kansas | #1 | Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska |
W 55-0 | 68,331 | ||
| October 23 | at Oklahoma State | #1 | Lewis Field • Stillwater, Oklahoma |
W 41-13 | 37,000 | ||
| October 30 | #9 Colorado | #1 | Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska |
W 31-7 | 66,776 | ||
| November 6 | Iowa State | #1 | Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska |
W 37-0 | 67,201 | ||
| November 13 | at Kansas State | #1 | KSU Stadium • Manhattan, Kansas |
W 44-17 | 42,300 | ||
| November 25 | at #2 Oklahoma | #1 | Owen
Field • Norman, Oklahoma (Game of the Century) |
ABC | W 35-31 | 61,826 | |
| December 4* | at Hawaii | #1 | Honolulu
Stadium • Honolulu, Hawaii |
W 45-3 | 23,002 | ||
| January 1* | vs. #2 Alabama | #1 | Orange
Bowl • Miami, Florida (1972 Orange Bowl) |
NBC | W 38-6 | 73,151 | |
| *Non-Conference Game. †Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time. | |||||||
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Adkins, John #57 (Sr.)
DE |
Harvey, Phil #82 (Sr.)
TE |
Nelson, Chris #99 (So.)
TE |
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| Name | Title | First year in this position |
Years at Nebraska |
Alma Mater |
| Bob Devaney | Head Coach | 1962 | 1962-72 | Alma |
| Tom Osborne | Offensive Coordinator | 1969 | 1964-97 | Hastings |
| Cletus Fischer | Offensive Line | 1960-85 | Nebraska | |
| Carl Selmer | Offensive Line | 1962-72 | ||
| Jim Ross | 1962-76 | |||
| John Melton | Tight Ends, Wingbacks | 1973 | 1962-88 | Wyoming |
| Mike Corgan | Running Backs | 1962 | 1962-82 | Notre Dame |
| Monte Kiffin | 1967-76 | Nebraska | ||
| Warren Powers | Defensive Backs | 1969-76 | Nebraska | |
| Boyd Epley | Head Strength Coach | 1969 | 1969-2003 | Nebraska |
| Bill Thornton | 1970-71 | Nebraska | ||
| Jim Walden | 1971-72 | Wyoming |
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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.
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Minnesota managed a 2nd quarter touchdown, but the game was
never really in doubt as Nebraska extended their unbeaten streak to
21 games.
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Two huge plays left Nebraska's signature on the Texas A&M
win, as Johnny
Rogers 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.
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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.
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Nebraska was held scoreless for over 20 minutes, but Missouri
eventually succumbed to the pressure as Nebraska then ran up 36
points and shut out the Tigers in Columbia.
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Nebraska smashed Kansas at Homecoming for another shutout,
holding the Jayhawks to 56 yards of total offense, barely more than
one tenth of the Cornhuskers' 538 yards.
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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.
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Nebraska rolled right out to a 24-0 lead by halftime and was
cruising against #9 Colorado 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.
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The Cornhuskers held Iowa State to just 105 yards of offense and
had no trouble holding the Cyclones off the scoreboard for another
shutout on the season.
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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 Rogers 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 to decide the Big 8 title and
potentially the national championship.
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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.
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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.
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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
embarassing 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.
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Coaches | 1 |
| Award | Name(s) |
|---|---|
| National Coach of the Year |
Bob Devaney |
| NCAA District 6 Coach of the Year |
Bob Devaney |
| Outland Trophy | Larry Jacobson |
| All-America 1st team | Rich Glover, Willie Harper,
Larry Jacobson, Jeff Kinney, Johnny Rodgers, Jerry Tagge |
| All-America 2nd team | Dick Rupert |
| All-America 3rd team | Carl Johnson |
| All-America honorable mention |
Doug Dumler, Bill Kosch |
| All-America Sophomore | Daryl White |
| Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year |
Rich Glover |
| All-Big Eight 1st team |
Jim Anderson, Joe
Blahak, Rich Glover, Willie Harper, Larry Jacobson, Carl Johnson, Jeff Kinney, Bill Kosch, Johnny Rodgers, Dick Rupert, Jerry Tagge, Bob Terrio |
| All-Big Eight 2nd team |
Doug Dumler, Dave Mason |
| All-Big Eight honorable mention |
John Adkins, Bill Janssen, Jerry List, Daryl White, Keith Wortman |
Jerry Tagge
finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 1971,[5]
teammate Johnny
Rodgers would win in 1972.[6]
The 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers seniors selected in the 1972 NFL Draft:[7]
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | Franchise |
| Jerry Tagge | QB | 1 | 11 | Green Bay Packers |
| Jeff Kinney | RB | 1 | 23 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Larry Jacobson | DT | 1 | 24 | New York Giants |
| Carl Johnson | T | 5 | 112 | New Orleans Saints |
| Van Brownson | QB | 8 | 204 | Baltimore Colts |
| Keith Wortman | G | 10 | 242 | Green Bay Packers |
The 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers juniors selected in the following year's 1973 NFL Draft:[8]
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | Franchise |
| Johnny Rodgers | WR | 1 | 25 | San Diego Chargers |
| Willie Harper | LB | 2 | 41 | San Francisco 49ers |
| Monte Johnson | LB | 2 | 49 | Oakland Raiders |
| Bill Olds | RB | 3 | 61 | Baltimore Colts |
| Rich Glover | DT | 3 | 69 | New York Giants |
| Doug Dumler | C | 5 | 108 | New England Patriots |
| Joe Blahak | DB | 8 | 183 | Houston Oilers |
| Bill Janssen | T | 8 | 206 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Dave Mason | DB | 10 | 246 | Minnesota Vikings |
| Jerry List | TE | 11 | 283 | Oakland Raiders |
The 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers sophomores selected in the 1974 NFL Draft:[9]
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | Franchise |
| John Dutton | DE | 1 | 5 | Baltimore Colts |
| Steve Manstedt | LB | 4 | 79 | Houston Oilers |
| Daryl White | G | 4 | 98 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Bob Wolfe | T | 6 | 156 | Miami Dolphins |
| Maury Damkroger | LB | 7 | 178 | New England Patriots |
| Frosty Anderson | WR | 10 | 235 | New Orleans Saints |
The following is a list of 1971 Nebraska players
who joined a professional team as draftees or free agents.[10]
| Name | Team |
|---|---|
| Joe Blahak | Houston Oilers |
| Gary Dixon | Southern California Sun |
| Mark Doak | Birmingham Vulcans |
| Maury Damkroger | New England Patriots |
| Doug Dumler | New England Patriots |
| John Dutton | Baltimore Colts |
| Rich Glover | New York Giants |
| Willie Harper | San Francisco 49ers |
| Dave Humm | Oakland Raiders |
| Larry Jacobson | New York Giants |
| Bill Janssen | Charlotte Hornets |
| Carl Johnson | New Orleans Saints |
| Monte Johnson | Oakland Raiders |
| Jeff Kinney | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Brent Longwell | Memphis Southmen |
| Steve Manstedt | Birmingham Americans |
| Dave Mason | New England Patriots |
| Bill Olds | Baltimore Colts |
| Johnny Rodgers | Montreal Alouettes |
| Bob Schmit | Portland Storm |
| Jerry Tagge | Green Bay Packers |
| Don Westbrook | New England Patriots |
| Daryl White | Detroit Lions |
| Bob Wolfe | Birmingham Americans |
| Keith Wortman | Green Bay Packers |
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