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1971 Auburn

9–⁠2 (5–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Ralph Jordan, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Auburn in 1971, game by game: won vs. Chattanooga 60–7; won at No. 9 Tennessee 10–9; won vs. Kentucky 38–6; won vs. Southern Miss 27–14; won at Georgia Tech 31–14; won vs. Clemson 35–13; won vs. Florida 40–7; won vs. Mississippi State 30–21; won at No. 7 Georgia 35–20; lost vs. No. 3 Alabama 7–31; lost vs. No. 3 Oklahoma 22–40+53−24Won 60–7 vs. Chattanooga+53ChattanoogaWon 10–9 at No. 9 Tennessee+1No. 9 TennesseeWon 38–6 vs. Kentucky+32KentuckyWon 27–14 vs. Southern Miss+13Southern MissWon 31–14 at Georgia Tech+17Georgia TechWon 35–13 vs. Clemson+22ClemsonWon 40–7 vs. Florida+33FloridaWon 30–21 vs. Mississippi State+9Mississippi Sta…Won 35–20 at No. 7 Georgia+15No. 7 GeorgiaLost 7–31 vs. No. 3 Alabama-24No. 3 AlabamaLost 22–40 vs. No. 3 Oklahoma-18No. 3 Oklahoma
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 18vsChattanoogaW 60–⁠796%
Sep 25at9TennesseeW 10–⁠936%
Oct 2vsKentuckyW 38–⁠687%
Oct 9vsSouthern MissW 27–⁠1483%
Oct 16atGeorgia TechW 31–⁠1460%
Oct 23vsClemsonW 35–⁠1387%
Oct 30vsFloridaW 40–⁠783%
Nov 6vsMississippi StateW 30–⁠2189%
Nov 13at7GeorgiaW 35–⁠2040%
Nov 27vs3AlabamaL 7–⁠3146%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3OklahomaSugar BowlL 22–⁠4044%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oklahoma 40–⁠22 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 12 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Heisman TrophyPat Sullivan, QB; also the Walter Camp

2 consensus All-AmericansTerry Beasley, WR; Pat Sullivan, QB

Record
9–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠1 tied for 2nd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 4
Points
335–⁠182
Coach
Ralph Jordan
Elo
1691 +52 this season
SP+ rating
23.6 No. 9 of 120; offense No. 8, defense No. 26
SRS
22.4 No. 9 of 128 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Pat Sullivan

Drafted in 1972

The 1972 draft
Rd 1Terry Beasley WRSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 2Pat Sullivan QBAtlanta Falcons

All-SEC

6 first team, 2 second team

First team

  • Terry BeasleyWRAP-1; UPI
  • Dick SchmaizWRAP-2; UPI
  • Pat SullivanQBAP-1; UPI
  • Bob BrownDEAP-1
  • Tommy YearoutDTAP-2; UPI
  • David BeverlyPAP-1

Second team

  • Danny SpeignerOTAP-2
  • Johnny SimmonsDBAP-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.