1971 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 1971 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1971 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 18th and final year under head coach Murray Warmath, the Golden Gophers compiled a 4–7 record and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 278 to 212.[1]

1971 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record4–7 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPTom Chandler
CaptainBill Light
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1970
1972 →
1971 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Michigan $ 8 0 0 11 1 0
Northwestern 6 3 0 7 4 0
Ohio State 5 3 0 6 4 0
Michigan State 5 3 0 6 5 0
Illinois 5 3 0 5 6 0
Wisconsin 3 5 0 4 6 1
Minnesota 3 5 0 4 7 0
Purdue 3 5 0 3 7 0
Indiana 2 6 0 3 8 0
Iowa 1 8 0 1 10 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Defensive end Tom Chandler received the team's Most Valuable Player award. End Doug Kingsriter was named an All-American by the Associated Press and Bob Hope. Kingsriter and linebacker Bill Light were named All-Big Ten first team. Quarterback Craig Curry, fullback Ernie Cook and offensive tackle Jack Babcock were named All-Big Ten second team. Offensive lineman Bart Buetow and linebacker Ron King were named Academic All-Big Ten.[2]

Total attendance for the season was 207,662, which averaged to 34,610. The season high for attendance was against Michigan.[3]

Schedule

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DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 11IndianaW 28–028,549[4][5]
September 18at No. 1 Nebraska*L 7–3568,187
September 25Washington State*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
L 20–3132,020
October 2Kansas*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
W 38–2029,093–30,090
October 9at PurdueL 13–2764,281
October 16at IowaW 19–1451,488
October 23No. 3 Michigan 
L 7–3544,176
October 30No. 10 Ohio State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
L 12–1436,281
November 6at NorthwesternL 20–4131,217
November 13at Michigan StateL 25–4061,419
November 20Wisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)
W 23–2134,738
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

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1971 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 10 Craig Curry Sr
OT 72 Matt Herkenhoff So
TE 83 Doug Kingsriter Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DT 91 Dan Adams So
LB 33 Tom MacLeod Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

References

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  1. ^ "1971 Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  2. ^ Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), pp. 179–182[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 160[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Rice, Jon (September 12, 1971). "Gophers pound out 28-0 victory". Minneapolis Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. 1C. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .
  5. ^ Rice, Jon (September 12, 1971). "Gopher scorecard (continued)". Minneapolis Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. 6C. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .