1971 Southern Illinois Salukis football team

1971 Southern Illinois Salukis football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–4
Head coach	Dick Towers (5th season)
Home stadium	McAndrew Stadium
Seasons ←  1970 1972  →

1971 NCAA College Division independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Delaware			–					10	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Tennessee State			–					9	–	1	–	0
No. 2 McNeese State			–					9	–	1	–	1
Colorado College			–					7	–	1	–	0
No. 8 Akron			–					8	–	2	–	0
Samford			–					8	–	2	–	0
No. 3 Eastern Michigan			–					7	–	1	–	2
Arkansas AM&N			–					7	–	2	–	0
Indiana (PA)			–					7	–	2	–	0
Kentucky State			–					8	–	3	–	0
Appalachian State			–					7	–	3	–	1
Northern Michigan			–					7	–	3	–	0
Hawaii			–					7	–	4	–	0
Ashland			–					6	–	4	–	0
Santa Clara			–					6	–	4	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					6	–	4	–	0
Tampa			–					6	–	5	–	0
UNLV			–					5	–	4	–	1
Bucknell			–					5	–	5	–	0
Central Michigan			–					5	–	5	–	0
Milwaukee			–					5	–	5	–	0
Nevada			–					5	–	5	–	0
St. Norbert			–					5	–	5	–	0
Wayne State (MI)			–					4	–	4	–	0
Hofstra			–					5	–	6	–	0
Cortland			–					4	–	5	–	0
Northeastern			–					4	–	5	–	0
Portland State			–					4	–	5	–	0
Ball State			–					4	–	5	–	1
Chicago			–					3	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana			–					4	–	6	–	1
Eastern Illinois			–					4	–	6	–	0
Indiana State			–					4	–	6	–	0
Saint Mary's			–					3	–	5	–	0
Rose-Hulman			–					3	–	6	–	0
Boston University			–					3	–	7	–	0
Drexel			–					2	–	6	–	0
Chattanooga			–					2	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP small college poll

The 1971 Southern Illinois Salukis football team was an American football team that represented Southern Illinois University (now known as Southern Illinois University Carbondale) as an independent during the 1971 NCAA College Division football season. Under fifth-year head coach Dick Towers, the team compiled a 6–4 record. ^[1] The team played its home games at McAndrew Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18		at Dayton		Baujan Field Dayton, OH	W 31–14	11,342	[2]
September 25		at Illinois State	No. T–9	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	W 10–9	7,000	[3]
October 2	7:30 p.m.	Wichita State		McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	L 24–26	10,500	[4]
October 9		No. 2 Arkansas State		McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 21–14	10,200	[5]
October 16		Ball State	No. T–10	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 33–8	9,500–10,000	[6]
October 23		at No. 4 Akron	No. 8	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	L 21–43	15,500–16,138	[7]
October 30		at Indiana State		Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	L 3–17	6,500	[8]
November 6		Drake		McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 34–32	9,500	[9]
November 13	1:00 p.m.	at Louisville		Fairgrounds Stadium Louisville, KY	L 14–24	10,100	[10]
November 20		Central Michigan		McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 35–8	5,400	[11]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[12]

References

1. "Southern Illinois Saluki Football 2019 Media Guide" (PDF). Southern Illinois University. 2019. p. 117. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
2. "Salukis roll over Dayton 31–14". Chicago Tribune. September 19, 1971. Retrieved September 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. "SIU nudges Red Birds". Evansville Courier & Press. September 26, 1971. Retrieved September 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Wichita St. tops So. Illinois, 26–24". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 3, 1971. Retrieved September 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Salukis stop Arkansas St". Southern Illinoisan. October 10, 1971. Retrieved October 9, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Final 1971 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Ball State)". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved June 3, 2022.
7. "Final 1971 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Akron)". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved December 14, 2021.
8. "Indiana St. whips SIU on turnovers". Southern Illinoisan. October 31, 1971. Retrieved September 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Drake drops 34–32 battle". The Sioux City Journal. November 7, 1971. Retrieved September 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Thunderbolt Howard Stevens leads Louisville to 24–12 win over SIU". The Paducah Sun-Democrat. November 14, 1971. Retrieved September 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "CMU bows in finale". Jackson Citizen Patriot. November 21, 1971. Retrieved September 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Final 1971 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Southern Illinois)". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved December 13, 2022.