The 1971 Northwestern Wildcats team represented Northwestern University during the 1971 Big Ten Conference football season. In their eighth year under head coach Alex Agase, the Wildcats compiled a 7–4 record (6–3 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and finished in second place in the Big Ten Conference.[2]
The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Maurie Daigneau with 1,733 passing yards, Al Robinson with 881 rushing yards, and Barry Pearson with 674 receiving yards.[3] Ten Northwestern players received honors on the 1971 All-Big Ten Conference football team. They are: (1) Maurie Daigneau (AP-1; UPI-1); (2) running back Al Robinson (AP-2); (3) wide receiver Barry Pearson (AP-1; UPI-1); (4) offensive tackle Tom McCreight (AP-1); (5) defensive end Wil Hemby (UPI-2); (6) defensive tackle Jim Anderson (UPI-2); (7) linebacker John Voorhees (AP-2); and defensive ends (8) Eric Hutchinson (AP-1; UPI-1); (9) Jerry Brown (AP-2); and (10) Jack Dustin (UPI-2).[4][5][6] Eric Hutchinson was also selected as a first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America.[7]
This was Northwestern's last winning season until the miraculous 1995 campaign when the Wildcats won the Big Ten championship outright by going undefeated in the conference (8-0), and played in the Rose Bowl.
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
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September 11 | No. 4 Michigan | No. 20 | | L 6–21 | 42,472 | [8] |
September 18 | at No. 2 Notre Dame* | | | L 7–50 | 59,075 | |
September 25 | Syracuse* | | - Dyche Stadium
- Evanston, IL
| W 12–6 | 27,529 | |
October 2 | Wisconsin | | - Dyche Stadium
- Evanston, IL
| W 24–11 | 40,473 | |
October 9 | at Iowa | | | W 28–3 | 52,102 | |
October 16 | No. 20 Purdue | | - Dyche Stadium
- Evanston, IL
| L 20–21 | 40,059 | |
October 23 | at Indiana | | | W 24–10 | 32,409 | |
October 30 | at Illinois | | | L 7–24 | 40,144 | |
November 6 | Minnesota | | - Dyche Stadium
- Evanston, IL
| W 41–20 | 31,217 | |
November 13 | at No. 16 Ohio State | | | W 14–10 | 86,062 | |
November 20 | No. 19 Michigan State | | - Dyche Stadium
- Evanston, IL
| W 28–7 | 30,012 | |
- *Non-conference game
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
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Roster
1971 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
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Players
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Coaches
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Offense
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Defense
Pos. |
# |
Name |
Class
|
DT
|
74
|
Jim Anderson
|
Jr
|
LB
|
55
|
John Buckley
|
So
|
DT
|
79
|
Wayne Bryan
|
Sr
|
DB
|
42
|
Jerry Brown
|
Sr
|
DB
|
29
|
Mike Coughlin
|
Sr
|
DB
|
27
|
Jack Dustin
|
Sr
|
DE
|
89
|
Wil Hemby
|
Sr
|
DB
|
32
|
Eric Hutchinson
|
Sr
|
DE
|
58
|
George Keporos
|
Sr
|
DT
|
60
|
Pat Kershaw
|
Sr
|
LB
|
99
|
Dave McCreery
|
So
|
LB
|
82
|
Pat McNamara
|
Jr
|
DT
|
77
|
Dale Mize
|
So
|
LB
|
88
|
Mike Morkin
|
Sr
|
DB
|
15
|
Greg Swanson
|
So
|
LB
|
35
|
Phil Trembczynski
|
So
|
LB
|
66
|
Mike Varty
|
So
|
LB
|
40
|
John Vorhees
|
Sr
|
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Special teams
Pos. |
# |
Name |
Class
|
K
|
48
|
Ed Planisek
|
Sr
|
P
|
9
|
Dave Skarin
|
So
|
|
- Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
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References
- ^ "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2007. p. 148. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ "1971 Northwestern Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ "1971 Northwestern Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ "All Big Ten Selected". Daily Illini. November 24, 1971.
- ^ "Sports Whirl". The Daily News of the Virgin Islands. November 24, 1971.
- ^ "Unbeaten Michigan Dominate UPI Team Picked by Coaches: Ohio State Places 7 On All-Big Ten Teams". The Times Recorder. Zanesville, Ohio. November 25, 1971. p. 9D.
- ^ Ted Gangi (ed.). "FWAA All-America Since 1944: The All-Time Team" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
- ^ Curt Sylvester (September 12, 1971). "U-M, Spartans Both Win: It's Wolverines, 21–6". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E, 4E – via Newspapers.com.
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