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1971 Colorado Buffaloes football team

The 1971 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the Big Eight Conference during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Eddie Crowder, the Buffaloes were 9–2 in the regular season (5–2 in Big 8, third),[3][4] and played their home games on campus at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.

1971 Colorado Buffaloes football
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl champion
ConferenceBig Eight Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 3
Record10–2 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorJerry Claiborne[1][2] (1st season)
MVPCliff Branch
CaptainBrian Foster, Bill Kralicek, Herb Orvis
Home stadiumFolsom Field
Seasons
← 1970
1972 →
1971 Big Eight Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Nebraska $ 7 – 0 – 0 13 – 0 – 0
No. 2 Oklahoma 6 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 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

Invited to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl against host Houston, seventh-ranked Colorado defeated the #15 Cougars 29–17 to finish at 10–2,[5] outscoring their opponents 320–220. The Buffs climbed to third in the final AP poll, behind Nebraska and Oklahoma, also of the Big Eight (and their only two losses, both on the road).[6]

Colorado's next bowl win came nineteen years later. This was the first season of artificial turf at Folsom Field; natural grass returned 28 years later in 1999.

In his only season in Boulder, Jerry Claiborne was the defensive coordinator,[2] previously the head coach for a decade at Virginia Tech.[1] He left to become head coach at Maryland for a decade, then at his alma mater Kentucky for eight years.

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 11at No. 9 LSU*
W 31–2170,099[7]
September 18Wyoming*No. 12
W 56–1340,729
September 25at No. 6 Ohio State*No. 10
W 20–1485,538
October 2Kansas StateNo. 6
W 31–2147,740
October 9at Iowa StateNo. 5
W 24–1431,535
October 16at No. 2 OklahomaNo. 6
L 17–4561,826
October 23Missouri No. 11
  • Folsom Field
  • Boulder, CO
W 27–745,129
October 30at No. 1 NebraskaNo. 9
ABCL 7–3167,776
November 6at KansasNo. 13
W 35–1435,299
November 13Oklahoma StateNo. 12
  • Folsom Field
  • Boulder, CO
W 40–640,211
November 20Air Force*No. 10
  • Folsom Field
  • Boulder, CO
W 53–1746,362
December 31vs. No. 15 Houston*No. 7
ABCW 29–1754,720
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[8][9][10]

Roster

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1971 Colorado Buffaloes football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
RB 8 Rich Bland
WR 23 Cliff Branch Sr
WR 42 Larry Brunson
TE 89 J.V. Cain So
RB 26 Charlie Davis
QB 10 Joe Duenas
OL 77 Greg Horton
RB Jon Keyworth
OL 63 Bill Kralicek
OL 61 Chuck Mandrill
RB 41 Bo Matthews So
OL 50 Bill McDonald
QB 7 Ken Johnson
TE 82 Bob Masten
WR S. Mendez
WR 39 Willie Nichols
RB 32 John Tarver
RB L. Thomas
WR Marv Whitaker
OL 79 Jake Zumbach
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DL 85 Stu Aldrich
DB 16 Cullen Bryant
LB 64 Lenny Ciufo
DL 73 Mark Cooney
LB 51 Billie Drake
DB 18 Brian Foster
LB 15 Randy Geist
DL 49 Chris Havens
DL Rick Kay
LB 71 Bud Magrum
LB 58 Dave Orvis
DT 88 Herb Orvis
DB 27 Lorne Richardson
DL 55 John Stavely
DB John Stearns
DL Carl Taibi
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K J.B. Dean
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Roster

Source:[11]

Game summaries

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Ohio State

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See also: 1971 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
Colorado Buffaloes at Ohio State Buckeyes
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Colorado 6 7 0720
Ohio St 0 0 01414

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

  • Date: September 25, 1971
  • Game time: 1:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 64 °F (18 °C)
  • Game attendance: 85,586
  • Box Score
Game information

Oklahoma State

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  • Charles Davis 342 rush yards (conference record)[12]

NFL Draft

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Two Buffaloes were selected in the 1972 NFL draft

Player Position Round Overall Franchise
Herb Orvis Defensive tackle 1 16 Detroit Lions
Cliff Branch Wide receiver 4 98 Oakland Raiders

References

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  1. ^ a b "Colorado hires Claiborne". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). UPI. January 23, 1971. p. 17.
  2. ^ a b "Crowder quits as Buff coach". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 23, 1973. p. 5C.
  3. ^ "Buffs, Cyclones eye bowl bids". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). November 19, 1971. p. 13.
  4. ^ "Colorado dumps Air Force, 53-17". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 21, 1971. p. 5B.
  5. ^ "Buffs triumph as Texan stars". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 1, 1972. p. 2B.
  6. ^ "Huskers solid No. 1". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. January 4, 1972. p. 20.
  7. ^ "Buff sophomore riddles LSU". The Sunday Oklahoman. September 12, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "1971 Colorado Buffaloes Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  9. ^ "1971 Football Schedule". University of Colorado Boulder. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  10. ^ "Colorado Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF). University of Colorado Boulder. p. 40. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  11. ^ "Probable starters for CU-KU battle". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). November 5, 1971. p. 13.
  12. ^ "Buffs roll past Oklahoma State." Eugene Register-Guard. 1971 Nov 14. Retrieved 2021-Dec-06.


 

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