CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1971 Colorado

10–⁠2 (5–⁠2 Big Eight), coached by Eddie Crowder, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Colorado in 1971, game by game: won at No. 9 LSU 31–21; won vs. Wyoming 56–13; won at No. 6 Ohio State 20–14; won vs. Kansas State 31–21; won at Iowa State 24–14; lost at No. 2 Oklahoma 17–45; won vs. Missouri 27–7; lost at No. 1 Nebraska 7–31; won at Kansas 35–14; won vs. Oklahoma State 40–6; won vs. Air Force 53–17; won vs. No. 15 Houston 29–17+43−28Won 31–21 at No. 9 LSU+10No. 9 LSUWon 56–13 vs. Wyoming+43WyomingWon 20–14 at No. 6 Ohio State+6No. 6 Ohio StateWon 31–21 vs. Kansas State+10Kansas StateWon 24–14 at Iowa State+10Iowa StateLost 17–45 at No. 2 Oklahoma-28No. 2 OklahomaWon 27–7 vs. Missouri+20MissouriLost 7–31 at No. 1 Nebraska-24No. 1 NebraskaWon 35–14 at Kansas+21KansasWon 40–6 vs. Oklahoma State+34Oklahoma StateWon 53–17 vs. Air Force+36Air ForceWon 29–17 vs. No. 15 Houston+12No. 15 Houston
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 11at9LSUW 31–⁠2133%
Sep 18vsWyomingW 56–⁠1383%
Sep 25at6Ohio StateW 20–⁠1438%
Oct 2vsKansas StateW 31–⁠2171%
Oct 9atIowa StateW 24–⁠1459%
Oct 16at2OklahomaL 17–⁠4543%
Oct 23vsMissouriW 27–⁠783%
Oct 30at1NebraskaL 7–⁠3127%
Nov 6atKansasW 35–⁠1471%
Nov 13vsOklahoma StateW 40–⁠677%
Nov 20vsAir ForceW 53–⁠1771%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs15HoustonAstro-Bluebonnet BowlW 29–⁠1748%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Houston 29–⁠17 in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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
10–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠2 3rd in Big Eight
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 3
Points
370–⁠220
Coach
Eddie Crowder
Elo
1728 +146 this season
SP+ rating
29.1 No. 4 of 120; offense No. 3, defense No. 18
SRS
25.6 No. 7 of 128 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Jerry Claiborne
Captains
Brian Foster, Bill Kralicek and Herb Orvis
Most valuable player
Cliff Branch

Drafted in 1972

The 1972 draft
Rd 1Herb Orvis DEDetroit Lions
Rd 4Cliff Branch WROakland Raiders
Rd 7John Tarver RBNew England Patriots

All-Big Eight

1 first team, 6 second team

First team

Second team

  • Cliff BranchWRAP-2
  • Bill KralicekOLAP-2
  • Jake ZumbachOLAP-2
  • Charlie DavisBAP-2
  • Bud MagrumInterior linemenAP-2
  • Carl TaibiInterior linemenAP-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 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Nebraska7–⁠013–⁠01
Oklahoma6–⁠111–⁠12
Colorado5–⁠210–⁠23
Iowa State4–⁠38–⁠4
Kansas State2–⁠55–⁠6
Oklahoma State2–⁠54–⁠6–⁠1
Kansas2–⁠54–⁠7
Missouri0–⁠71–⁠10

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