CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1971 Alabama

11–⁠1 (7–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bear Bryant, finished No. 4 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 1971, game by game: won at No. 5 USC 17–10; won vs. Southern Miss 42–6; won at Florida 38–0; won vs. Ole Miss 40–6; won at Vanderbilt 42–0; won vs. No. 14 Tennessee 32–15; won vs. Houston 34–20; won at Mississippi State 41–10; won at No. 18 LSU 14–7; won vs. Miami 31–3; won vs. No. 5 Auburn 31–7; lost vs. No. 1 Nebraska 6–38+42−32Won 17–10 at No. 5 USC+7No. 5 USCWon 42–6 vs. Southern Miss+36Southern MissWon 38–0 at Florida+38FloridaWon 40–6 vs. Ole Miss+34Ole MissWon 42–0 at Vanderbilt+42VanderbiltWon 32–15 vs. No. 14 Tennessee+17No. 14 TennesseeWon 34–20 vs. Houston+14HoustonWon 41–10 at Mississippi State+31Mississippi Sta…Won 14–7 at No. 18 LSU+7No. 18 LSUWon 31–3 vs. Miami+28MiamiWon 31–7 vs. No. 5 Auburn+24No. 5 AuburnLost 6–38 vs. No. 1 Nebraska-32No. 1 Nebraska
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 10at5USCW 17–⁠1037%
Sep 18vsSouthern MissW 42–⁠680%
Sep 25atFloridaW 38–⁠056%
Oct 2vsOle MissW 40–⁠658%
Oct 9atVanderbiltW 42–⁠069%
Oct 16vs14TennesseeW 32–⁠1558%
Oct 23vsHoustonW 34–⁠2065%
Oct 30atMississippi StateW 41–⁠1082%
Nov 6at18LSUW 14–⁠754%
Nov 13vsMiamiW 31–⁠389%
Nov 27vs5AuburnW 31–⁠754%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs1NebraskaOrange BowlL 6–⁠3845%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Nebraska 38–⁠6 in the Orange Bowl; No. 4 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 31st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 16
  2. Wk 2: 9
  3. Wk 3: 8
  4. Wk 4: 7
  5. Wk 5: 6
  6. Wk 6: 4
  7. Wk 7: 4
  8. Wk 8: 4
  9. Wk 9: 4
  10. Wk 10: 4
  11. Wk 11: 4
  12. Wk 12: 3
  13. Wk 13: 2
  14. Wk 14: 2
  15. Final: 4

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1971.

Southeastern Conference champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Heisman voteJohnny Musso, fourth

Consensus All-AmericanJohnny Musso, RB

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 4 peak No. 2
Points
368–⁠122
Coach
Bear Bryant
Elo
1772 +199 this season
SP+ rating
37.0 No. 2 of 120; offense No. 4, defense No. 1
SRS
33.0 No. 3 of 128 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Johnny Musso and Robin Parkhouse
Offense
Wishbone
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1972

The 1972 draft
Rd 3Johnny Musso RBChicago Bears

All-SEC

8 first team, 2 second team

First team

  • David BaileyTEAP-1
  • Jim KrapfOTAP-1
  • John HannahOGAP-1; UPI
  • Jimmy GrammerCAP-2; UPI
  • Johnny MussoRBAP-1; UPI
  • Robin ParkhouseDEAP-1; UPI
  • Tom SurlasLBAP-1
  • Steve HigginbothamDBAP-1; UPI

Second team

  • Jeff RouzieLBAP-2
  • Greg GanttPAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1971 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1971 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama7–⁠011–⁠14
Georgia5–⁠111–⁠17
Auburn5–⁠19–⁠212
Ole Miss4–⁠210–⁠215
Tennessee4–⁠210–⁠29
LSU3–⁠29–⁠311
Vanderbilt1–⁠54–⁠6–⁠1
Florida1–⁠64–⁠7
Kentucky1–⁠63–⁠8
Mississippi State1–⁠72–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.