1971 BYU Cougars football team

1971 BYU Cougars football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	5–6 (3–4 WAC)
Head coach	Tommy Hudspeth (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dave Kragthorpe (2nd season)
Home stadium	Cougar Stadium
Seasons ←  1970 1972  →

1971 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 Arizona State $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
New Mexico	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	3	–	2
Arizona	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
BYU	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wyoming	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Utah	3	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Colorado State	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
UTEP	1	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 BYU Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Brigham Young University (BYU) as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. In their eighth and final season under head coach Tommy Hudspeth, the Cougars compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 3–4 against conference opponents, finished fourth in the WAC, and outscored opponents by a total of 227 to 199. ^{[1] [2]}

Pete Van Valkenburg led the team with 602 rushing yards, 684 yards of total offense, and 48 points scored. Other statistical leaders included Bill August with 448 passing yards, Golden Richards with 238 receiving yards, and Dave Atkinson with nine interceptions. ^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	at North Texas State *	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	W 41–13	13,000	[4]
September 18	Colorado State	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	W 54–14	31,087
September 25	at Kansas State *	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	L 7–23	37,500
October 1	New Mexico	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	L 0–14
October 9	at Utah State *	Romney Stadium Logan, UT (rivalry)	L 7–29	17,015
October 16	at Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	W 35–17
October 23	at Tulsa *	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK	W 25–7
October 30	at UTEP	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	W 16–0	12,235
November 6	at No. 10 Arizona State	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	L 13–38
November 13	Arizona	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	L 14–27
November 20	Utah	BYU Stadium Provo, UT (rivalry)	L 15–17
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "1971 BYU Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
2. "BYU Football 2015 Almanac" (PDF). Brigham Young University. 2015. p. 170. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 3, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
3. BYU Football 2015 Almanac, pp. 162-164.
4. "BYU blasts North Texas, 41–13". Albuquerque Journal. September 10, 1971. p. D1. Retrieved October 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.