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1971 Arizona State

11–⁠1 (7–⁠0 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Frank Kush, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Arizona State in 1971, game by game: won vs. No. 20 Houston 18–17; won at Utah 41–21; won vs. UTEP 24–7; won at Colorado State 42–0; lost at Oregon State 18–24; won at New Mexico 60–28; won vs. No. 18 Air Force 44–28; won vs. BYU 38–13; won vs. Wyoming 52–19; won at San José State 49–6; won vs. Arizona 31–0; won vs. Florida State 45–38+43−6Won 18–17 vs. No. 20 Houston+1No. 20 HoustonWon 41–21 at Utah+20UtahWon 24–7 vs. UTEP+17UTEPWon 42–0 at Colorado State+42Colorado StateLost 18–24 at Oregon State-6Oregon StateWon 60–28 at New Mexico+32New MexicoWon 44–28 vs. No. 18 Air Force+16No. 18 Air ForceWon 38–13 vs. BYU+25BYUWon 52–19 vs. Wyoming+33WyomingWon 49–6 at San José State+43San José StateWon 31–0 vs. Arizona+31ArizonaWon 45–38 vs. Florida State+7Florida State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 18vs20HoustonW 18–⁠1763%
Sep 25atUtahW 41–⁠2163%
Oct 2vsUTEPW 24–⁠783%
Oct 9atColorado StateW 42–⁠083%
Oct 16atOregon StateL 18–⁠2468%
Oct 23atNew MexicoW 60–⁠2867%
Oct 30vs18Air ForceW 44–⁠2870%
Nov 6vsBYUW 38–⁠1382%
Nov 13vsWyomingW 52–⁠1989%
Nov 20atSan José StateW 49–⁠681%
Nov 27vsArizonaW 31–⁠088%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsFlorida StateFiesta BowlW 45–⁠3869%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Florida State 45–⁠38 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; Western Athletic Conference champions.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 93 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Western Athletic Conference champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 8
Points
462–⁠201
Coach
Frank Kush
Elo
1778 +105 this season
SP+ rating
24.2 No. 6 of 120; offense No. 2, defense No. 56
SRS
21.9 No. 10 of 128 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Larry Kentera

Drafted in 1972

The 1972 draft
Rd 4Windlan Hall DBSan Francisco 49ers

1971 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Arizona State7–⁠011–⁠18
New Mexico5–⁠16–⁠3–⁠2
Arizona3–⁠35–⁠6
BYU3–⁠45–⁠6
Wyoming3–⁠45–⁠6
Utah3–⁠43–⁠8
Colorado State1–⁠43–⁠8
UTEP1–⁠65–⁠6

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