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1971 TCU

6–⁠4–⁠1 (5–⁠2 Southwest Conference), coached by Jim Pittman, then Billy Tohill (1st season, final 4 games).

Schedule and results

TCU in 1971, game by game: won vs. Texas–Arlington 42–0; lost at No. 17 Washington 26–44; lost at No. 18 Arkansas 15–49; tied vs. Oklahoma State 14–14; won vs. Texas A&M 14–3; lost at No. 7 Penn State 14–66; won at Baylor 34–27; won vs. Texas Tech 17–6; lost at No. 13 Texas 0–31; won vs. Rice 20–19; won at SMU 18–16+42−52Won 42–0 vs. Texas–Arlington+42Texas–ArlingtonLost 26–44 at No. 17 Washington-18No. 17 WashingtonLost 15–49 at No. 18 Arkansas-34No. 18 ArkansasTied 14–14 vs. Oklahoma State0Oklahoma StateWon 14–3 vs. Texas A&M+11Texas A&MLost 14–66 at No. 7 Penn State-52No. 7 Penn StateWon 34–27 at Baylor+7BaylorWon 17–6 vs. Texas Tech+11Texas TechLost 0–31 at No. 13 Texas-31No. 13 TexasWon 20–19 vs. Rice+1RiceWon 18–16 at SMU+2SMU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 18vsTexas–ArlingtonW 42–⁠090%
Sep 25at17WashingtonL 26–⁠4433%
Oct 2at18ArkansasL 15–⁠4920%
Oct 9vsOklahoma StateT 14–⁠1449%
Oct 16vsTexas A&MW 14–⁠369%
Oct 23at7Penn StateL 14–⁠6616%
Oct 30atBaylorW 34–⁠2759%
Nov 6vsTexas TechW 17–⁠652%
Nov 13at13TexasL 0–⁠3120%
Nov 20vsRiceW 20–⁠1969%
Nov 27atSMUW 18–⁠1649%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat SMU 18–⁠16; unranked in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The 64th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

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
6–⁠4–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠2 3rd in Southwest Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
214–⁠275
Coach
Jim Pittman, then Billy Tohill (1st season, final 4 games)
Elo
1498 +23 this season
SP+ rating
-4.4 No. 89 of 120; offense No. 62, defense No. 91
SRS
−0.4 No. 68 of 128 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Russell Coffee
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠4

All-Southwest Conference

1 first team, 4 second team

First team

  • Ronnie PeoplesTEAP-1

Second team

  • Steve JudyQBAP-2
  • Bobby DavisRBAP-2
  • Gary MartinecDEAP-2
  • Lyle BlackwoodDBAP-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.