Main Header. [11] Alabama later opened the season with an upset victory over USC that was credited to the surprise switch to the wishbone that caught the Trojans off-guard. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Or write about sports? Install the latest free Adobe Acrobat Reader and use the download link below. The official 1971 Football schedule for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. Their lead was then stretched to 130 at halftime behind field goals of 33-yards by Bill Davis and 26-yards by Greg Gantt. Ellis Beck scored on a one-yard run and Terry Davis threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Jim Simmons in the third quarter. Fifty years ago, on Sept. 10, 1971, Paul Bear Bryants Crimson Tide traveled to the West Coast to meet heavily favored Southern Cal at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. [63][64] The Alabama freshmen squad was led by coach Clem Gryska for the 1971 season and finished with a record of four wins and one loss (41). [14][38][39] Alabama took a 70 first quarter lead on a two-yard Johnny Musso touchdown run, but Houston then scored on a three-yard Tom Mozisek touchdown run that tied the game 77 early in the second. 6 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Vanderbilt. 5 Trojans 1710 on a Friday night to open the 1971 season. [22] Against the Gators, Johnny Musso scored four rushing touchdowns en route to a 380 shutout at Florida Field. No. [35][36] Alabama then took a 156 halftime lead after a 27-yard Bill Davis field goal and six-yard Terry Davis touchdown run in the second quarter. [66], At Knoxville, a 3613 loss to the Volunteers ended an eight-game winning streak for the Baby Tide. A school and a state that been widely (and justifiably) criticized for holding onto oppressive, obsolete ways of life had finally joined the 20th century from a cultural standpoint. [68] Alabama then rallied for the 2322 victory behind a pair of Bob Holmes touchdown runs and a pair of Ralph Stokes two-point conversions in the fourth quarter. [57][58] Nebraska stormed out to a 280 halftime lead after they scored a pair of touchdowns in the first two quarters. (Photo courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum). Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Nebraska's victory played a part in causing the SEC as a whole to integrate their teams [8] and that integration would help Alabama reinvorgate their team creating a new dynasty winning National Championships in the years to come. [42][43] The Bulldogs then made the halftime score 173 behind a 41-yard Glenn Ellis field goal at the end of the second. [44][45] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi State to 43103.[47]. The historic game would pit undefeated and third-ranked Alabama (10-0) vs. undefeated and fifth-ranked Auburn (9-0) for the Southeastern Conference championship. [22][23] Alabama then closed the game with an 11-yard Billy Sexton touchdown pass to Dexter Wood that made the final score 380. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. [10][11] In spring 1971, Alabama assistants Mal Moore and Jimmy Sharpe traveled to Austin where they saw first hand how the wishbone operated during Texas' final week of spring practice. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. 1971 Football Archives. [53][54], After a scoreless third, the Crimson Tide scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and won 317. [31][32] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Vanderbilt to 28174. [33][34] The 73,828 in attendance set a new record for largest crowd in the history of Legion Field to date. [68] After Danny Ridgeway gave the Baby Tide an early 70 lead, Tulane responded with the next 22 points and opened a 227 lead. They finished season with eleven wins and one loss (111 overall, 70 in the SEC), as SEC champions and with a loss to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. In the third quarter, Musso scored for Alabama first with his nine-yard run and Houston followed with a three-yard Gary Mullins touchdown pass to Riley Odoms; in the fourth Joe LaBue scored for the Crimson tide on a 10-yard run and Mullins threw a second, three-yard pass to Odoms that made the final score 3420. [13][14] Neither team scored in the second half as both defenses created several turnovers and Alabama won 1710. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. On Sept. 10, 1971, the Crimson Tide unleashed the wishbone offense on unsuspecting USC. [7] From the time Bryant arrived at Alabama through the 1970 season, the Crimson Tide ran a pro-style offense. 4 position in the AP Poll. [13] At the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Alabama upset the No. And I watched that to actually see some of the replays. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. [52][53] The Crimson Tide responded with a pair of touchdowns later in the first on runs of 22-yards by Terry Davis and 67-yards by Wilbur Jackson. Special thanks to Brad Green at the Paul W. Bryant Museum for research and photo assistance. [40] Although the Cougars outgained the Crimson Tide by over 100 total yards, Alabama won 3420 at Denny Stadium. [37] Against the Volunteers, Alabama ended a four-game losing streak that dated back to their 1967 season with this 3215 in their annual rivalry game. 7/7 Alabama Defense Stifles Ole Miss in 84-62 Win Over the Rebels. [32], After their victory at Vanderbilt, Alabama moved into the No. 1 versus No. I remember over the next three years that I was there, when we had a team prayer, Coach Bryant only prayed maybe four times. It was the Crimson Tide's 78th overall season and 39th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). That 1971 season had begun with Bama in the return game to USC, a Tide win that shocked the college football world.). Auburn responded with a 31-yard Harry Unger touchdown pass to Terry Beasley in the second quarter that made the halftime score 147. Following the game, Auburn Coach Shug Jordan would call Davis the most underrated quarterback in the conference. SEC Champion Alabama handed Auburn their only conference loss of the year. Over time, the coaching and the preparation of the athlete got better. [66] Ralph Stokes then went on and scored the game-winning touchdown for Alabama in the fourth quarter on a 38-yard run that made the final score 2823. [13] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Southern Cal to 31. The score came on a 48-yard Kenneth Lyons touchdown pass to Elmer Allen in the second quarter. [29][30], Alabama closed the game with a pair of touchdowns in each of the final two quarters and won 420. Do you have a blog? Jackson, who played nine years in the NFL winning a Super Bowl ring with the San Francisco 49ers after the 1981 season is now retired in his hometown of Ozark. Two big changes came to Alabama football in 1971. Read more about our data coverage. [9] Alabama later opened the season with an upset victory over USC that was credited to the surprise switch to the wishbone that caught the Trojans off-guard. The seniors and juniors, those guys that had been there before, some of those guys were crying. Roster & Players. (Photo courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum). But when I think of great Alabama wins, it was the drama of the 1971 game. Season Stats | Roster | Superlatives . And there was a couple of clips in there. [1][2] For the 1971 season, John Mitchell became the first African American to play on the varsity squad for the Crimson Tide during the regular season after he transferred from Eastern Arizona College. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. His favorite target, Terry Beasley, was also an All-America. 5 position in the AP Poll prior to the first top five match-up in the Iron Bowl. 4 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Houston. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. And because they succeeded so immediately and so fully as both players and students at Alabama, it made the transition easier for those who came behind them. Alabama would ride the wishbone offense to five consecutive SEC championships between 1971-75 and three more from 1977-79, plus national titles in 1973, 1978 and 1979, a run detailed in the recently released documentary The Wishbone Boys. Bryant added another SEC crown in 1981, and was still running the offense up until his retirement at the end of the 1982 season. Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant is shown with Wilbur Jackson, left, and John Mitchell, right, the school's first two African-American varsity football players. We present them here for purely educational purposes. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. There is still work to do, said Stokes, now a successful businessman in Atlanta whose own memoir One of the First, was published earlier this year. Ellis Beck scored on a one-yard run and Terry Davis threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Jim Simmons in the third quarter. 1971 Southeastern Conference football standings, 1971 NCAA University Division football season, 1971 Southern Miss Southerners football team, avenge the 4823 loss from the previous season, 1971 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team, 1972 NCAA University Division football season, "2012 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Record Book", "Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Wilbur Jackson", "Walk-ons played a role, too, in integrating Alabama and Auburn football", "Football pioneer builds big men for Steelers", "The integration of college football didn't happen in one game", "Bear Bryant 'simply the best there ever was', "LSU fully integrated 45 years after last All-White team", "Musso's 2 touchdowns lead Alabama to upset over USC", "Tide to open against Southern Cal next fall", "Musso leads Alabama romp by hapless Florida, 380", "Alabama ends drought against Tennessee 3215", "Friday football flashback: Alabama 34, Houston 20 (1971)", "State spooky, but Tide gets eighth treat", "Bama chalks up new records in 313 trashing of Miami", "The Tigers come back to beat Bama, 3328", "Cornhuskers kill Crimson Tide dream, 386", "NCAA's decision to allow freshman eligibility changed football landscape", "Unanimous vote makes SEC frosh eligible", "UA frosh run rampant in 417 win over Vandy", "Tide freshmen rally late for 2322 win at Tulane", "Tennessee yearlings rip Baby Tide, 3613", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1971_Alabama_Crimson_Tide_football_team&oldid=1133616825, 1971 Southeastern Conference football season, Southeastern Conference football champion seasons, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox college sports team season with no sport parameter, Pages using CFB schedule with an unlinked rivalry, Pages using CFB schedule with named parameters, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 14 January 2023, at 18:14. 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