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1971 Arkansas

8–⁠3–⁠1 (5–⁠1–⁠1 Southwest Conference), coached by Frank Broyles, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Arkansas in 1971, game by game: won vs. California 51–20; won vs. Oklahoma State 31–10; lost vs. Tulsa 20–21; won vs. TCU 49–15; won at Baylor 35–7; won vs. No. 10 Texas 31–7; won vs. North Texas 60–21; lost vs. Texas A&M 9–17; tied at Rice 24–24; won at SMU 18–13; won vs. Texas Tech 15–0; lost vs. No. 9 Tennessee 13–14+39−8Won 51–20 vs. California+31CaliforniaWon 31–10 vs. Oklahoma State+21Oklahoma StateLost 20–21 vs. Tulsa-1TulsaWon 49–15 vs. TCU+34TCUWon 35–7 at Baylor+28BaylorWon 31–7 vs. No. 10 Texas+24No. 10 TexasWon 60–21 vs. North Texas+39North TexasLost 9–17 vs. Texas A&M-8Texas A&MTied 24–24 at Rice0RiceWon 18–13 at SMU+5SMUWon 15–0 vs. Texas Tech+15Texas TechLost 13–14 vs. No. 9 Tennessee-1No. 9 Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 11vsCaliforniaW 51–⁠2072%
Sep 18vsOklahoma StateW 31–⁠1076%
Sep 25vsTulsaL 20–⁠2184%
Oct 2vsTCUW 49–⁠1580%
Oct 9atBaylorW 35–⁠782%
Oct 16vs10TexasW 31–⁠756%
Oct 23vsNorth TexasW 60–⁠2193%
Oct 30vsTexas A&ML 9–⁠1791%
Nov 6atRiceT 24–⁠2475%
Nov 13atSMUW 18–⁠1373%
Nov 20vsTexas TechW 15–⁠078%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvs9TennesseeLiberty BowlL 13–⁠1440%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tennessee 14–⁠13 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 18
  5. Wk 5: 17
  6. Wk 6: 16
  7. Wk 7: 9
  8. Wk 8: 8
  9. Wk 9: 16
  10. Wk 10: 17
  11. Wk 11: 17
  12. Wk 12: 17
  13. Wk 13: 16
  14. Wk 14: 18
  15. Final: 16

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.

Record
8–⁠3–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠1–⁠1 2nd in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 6
Points
356–⁠169
Coach
Frank Broyles
Elo
1670 +35 this season
SP+ rating
11.2 No. 29 of 120; offense No. 23, defense No. 55
SRS
13.8 No. 23 of 128 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Don Breaux
Captains
David Hogue, Ronnie Jones, Mike Kelson, Kay Maybry and Bobby Nichols
Offense
Multiple

Drafted in 1972

The 1972 draft
Rd 3Bill McClard KSan Diego Chargers

All-Southwest Conference

6 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • Dickey MortonRBAP-2
  • Tom MabryOTAP-2
  • Tom ReedOGAP-2
  • Glen LoweOGAP-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 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas6–⁠18–⁠318
Arkansas5–⁠1–⁠18–⁠3–⁠116
TCU5–⁠26–⁠4–⁠1
Texas A&M4–⁠35–⁠6
SMU3–⁠44–⁠7
Rice2–⁠4–⁠13–⁠7–⁠1
Texas Tech2–⁠54–⁠7
Baylor0–⁠71–⁠9

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