| 1971 Northwestern Wildcats football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Record | 7–4 (6–3 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Dyche Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 Michigan $ | 8 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 1 | – | 8 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
- ^ "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.