The 1971 Stanford Indians football team represented Stanford University during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Led by ninth-year head coach John Ralston, the Indians were 8–3 in the regular season and repeated as Pacific-8 Conference champions at 6–1.
| 1971 Stanford Indians football | |
|---|---|
Pac-8 champion Rose Bowl champion | |
| Conference | Pacific-8 Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 16 |
| AP | No. 19 |
| Record | 9–3 (6–1 Pac-8) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Mike White |
| Defensive coordinator | Bob Gambold |
| Home stadium | Stanford Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 10 Stanford $ | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 USC | 3 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 19 Washington | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 1 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The previous season, the Indians won the Pac-8 title and upset undefeated Ohio State in the Rose Bowl behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jim Plunkett, the first overall pick in the 1971 NFL draft.
With the core of the "Thunder Chickens" defense returning, led by Jeff Siemon and Pete Lazetich, and an offense under the steady leadership of fifth-year senior quarterback Don Bunce, the Indians defended the conference title and upset fourth-ranked Michigan in the Rose Bowl.[1][2]
Shortly after their New Year's Day victory, Ralston resigned to become head coach and general manager of the Denver Broncos in the National Football League.[3][4][5] A few weeks later, offensive coordinator Mike White was hired as head coach at rival California, his alma mater, and Stanford promoted defensive assistant Jack Christiansen to head coach.[6][7][8]
This was the final season with the "Indians" nickname, which was changed to "Cardinals" for 1972, and reduced to the singular "Cardinal" in 1982.
Schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 11 | at Missouri* | No. 19 | W 19–0 | ||||
| September 18 | at Army* | No. 13 | W 38–3 | ||||
| September 25 | Oregon | No. 13 | W 38–17 | [9] | |||
| October 2 | No. 19 Duke* | No. 10 |
| L 3–9 | 61,000 | [10] | |
| October 9 | at No. 11 Washington | No. 19 | W 17–6 | 60,777 | |||
| October 16 | at USC | No. 15 | W 33–18 | 65,375 | |||
| October 23 | Washington State | No. 10 |
| L 23–24 | 52,250 | ||
| October 30 | at Oregon State | No. 17 | W 31–24 | 29,230 | |||
| November 6 | UCLA | No. 12 |
| W 20–9 | 70,205 | ||
| November 13 | San Jose State* | No. 10 |
| L 12–13 | |||
| November 20 | California | No. 18 |
| W 14–0 | 86,000 | ||
| January 1, 1972 | vs. No. 4 Michigan* | No. 16 | NBC | W 13–12 | 103,154 | ||
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Roster
edit| 1971 Stanford Cardinal football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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NFL draft
editSix Stanford players were selected in the 1972 NFL draft
| Player | Position | Round | Overall | Franchise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Sampson | Defensive end | 1 | 6 | Houston Oilers |
| Jeff Siemon | Linebacker | 1 | 10 | Minnesota Vikings |
| Pete Lazetich | Defensive end | 2 | 36 | San Diego Chargers |
| Jackie Brown | Running back | 8 | 202 | Oakland Raiders |
| Don Bunce | Quarterback | 12 | 307 | Washington Redskins |
| Larry Butler | Linebacker | 16 | 406 | Atlanta Falcons |
References
edit- ^ Blackman, Frank (December 29, 1999). "Bowled over by the '70s". The San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
- ^ "Stanford Game-by-Game Results; 1971–1975". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
- ^ "Stanford's Ralston Broncos coach". Sarasota Herald Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. January 6, 1972. p. 1D.
- ^ "Five-year pro deal to Ralston". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 6, 1972. p. 23.
- ^ King, Errol (January 6, 1972). "Ralston's talking Super Bowl". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. p. C1.
- ^ a b "Christiansen accepts job at Stanford". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). UPI. January 22, 1972. p. 16.
- ^ "White decides on Cal; Tribe gets Christiansen". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 22, 1972. p. 1B.
- ^ "Christiansen Stanford's coach, White goes to Cal". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. January 22, 1972. p. 7.
- ^ "Ducks impressed with Stanford". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. September 27, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "Blue Devils upset Stanford, 9–3". The Rocky Mount Telegram. October 3, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "OSU-Stanford lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). October 30, 1971. p. 2B.
- ^ "Bowl lineups: Rose Bowl". Milwaukee Sentinel. January 1, 1972. p. 4, part 2.
- ^ "1972 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved June 14, 2012.