1971 Texas Longhorns football team

1971 Texas Longhorns football
SWC champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 6–30 vs. Penn State
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 18
Record	8–3 (6–1 SWC)
Head coach	Darrell Royal (15th season)
Offensive coordinator	Emory Bellard (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Defensive coordinator	Mike Campbell
Base defense	4–4
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1970 1972  →

1971 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 18 Texas $	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
No. 16 Arkansas	5	–	1	–	1			8	–	3	–	1
TCU	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
Texas A&M	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
SMU	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Rice	2	–	4	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Texas Tech	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Baylor	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season.

Texas' hopes for a third consecutive national championship were squashed with back-to-back one-sided losses in October to its two biggest rivals, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The Longhorns recovered to win their fourth consecutive Southwest Conference championship and returned to the Cotton Bowl, where they were routed 30-6 by Penn State.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18	3:30 p.m.	at UCLA *	No. 3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	W 28–10	36,504	[1]
September 25	4:00 p.m.	Texas Tech	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)		W 28–0	76,639	[2]
October 2	4:00 p.m.	Oregon *	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX		W 35–7	66,500	[3]
October 9	2:00 p.m.	vs. No. 9 Oklahoma *	No. 3	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)	CBS	L 27–48	73,580	[4]
October 16	3:00 p.m.	at No. 16 Arkansas	No. 10	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR (rivalry)	ABC	L 7–31	54,446	[5]
October 23	2:00 p.m.	Rice	No. 16	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)		W 39–10	61,000	[6]
October 30	2:00 p.m.	at SMU	No. 14	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX		W 22–18	40,551	[7]
November 6	2:00 p.m.	Baylor	No. 15	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)		W 24–0	54,500	[8]
November 13	2:00 p.m.	TCU	No. 13	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)		W 31–0	63,500	[9]
November 25	1:30 p.m.	at Texas A&M	No. 12	Kyle Field College Station, TX (rivalry)		W 34–14	52,090	[10]
January 1, 1972	1:00 p.m.	vs. No. 10 Penn State *	No. 12	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	CBS	L 6–30	72,000	[11]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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Game summaries

Oregon

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Oregon	0	0	0	7	7
•Texas	7	7	7	14	35

• Date: October 2
• Location: Memorial Stadium, Austin, TX
• Game attendance: 66,500

Scoring summary

1	11:04	TEX	Callison 1-yard run (Valek kick)	TEX 7-0
2	2:17	TEX	Wigginton 3-yard run (Valek kick)	TEX 14-0
3	6:59	TEX	Wigginton 5-yard run (Valek kick)	TEX 21-0
4	12:45	TEX	Ladd 1-yard run (Valek kick)	TEX 28-0
4	6:32	TEX	Ladd 2-yard run (Valek kick)	TEX 35-0
4	5:30	ORE	Glass 45-yard pass from Winn (Battle kick)	TEX 35-7

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TCU

TCU Horned Frogs (4–3) at #13 Texas Longhorns (6–2)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
TCU	0	0	0	0	0
Texas	0	7	7	17	31

at Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas

• Date: November 13
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: 81 °F (27 °C)
• Game attendance: 63,500
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter No scoring Second quarter TEX – Dennis Ladd 3-yard run (Glen Gaspard kick), 5:55. Texas 7–0. Drive: 17 plays, 80 yards, 7:48. Third quarter TEX – Donnie Wigginton 5-yard run (Glen Gaspard kick), 11:52. Texas 14–0. Drive: 9 plays, 62 yards, 3:08. Fourth quarter TEX – Dennis Ladd 1-yard run (Glen Gaspard kick), 11:20. Texas 21–0. Drive: 13 plays, 87 yards, 5:02. TEX – Steve Valek 47-yard field goal, 8:12. Texas 24–0. Drive: 4 plays, 36 yards, 1:36. TEX – Donnie Wigginton 1-yard run (Glen Gaspard kick), 5:42. Texas 31–0. Drive: 4 plays, 9 yards, 1:45. Top passers TCU TEX – Donnie Wigginton – 1/2, 21 yards Top rushers TCU TEX – Jim Bertelsen – 25 rushes, 94 yards Top receivers TCU TEX – Rick Davis – 1 reception, 21 yards

Roster

1971 Texas Longhorns football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 35 Jim Bertelsen Sr RB 26 Dennis Ladd So QB 14 Eddie Phillips Sr OT 76 Jerry Sisemore Jr QB 18 Donnie Wigginton Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB, K 38 Glenn Gaspard So DT 31 Greg Ploetz Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 7 Steve Valek So	Head coach Darrell Royal Coordinators/assistant coaches Emory Bellard (OC) Mike Campbell (DC) Willie Zapalac Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

NFL draft

Two seniors from the 1971 Longhorns were selected in the 1972 NFL draft:

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Jim Bertelsen	RB	2	30	Los Angeles Rams
Eddie Phillips	QB	4	95	Los Angeles Rams

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References

1. "Longhorns stampede late". The San Francisco Examiner. September 19, 1971. Retrieved March 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Texas slams Red Raiders, 28–0". The Odessa American. September 26, 1971. Retrieved March 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Longhorns stampede Oregon, 35–7". The Orange Leader. October 3, 1971. Retrieved March 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Sooners vanquish Longhorns, 48–27". The Arizona Republic. October 10, 1971. Retrieved March 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Ooooo,,Piggg..Sooie! Porkers 31, Steers 7". The Shreveport Times. October 17, 1971. Retrieved March 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Crippled Longhorns blast Rice to 'regain tradition'". The Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph. October 24, 1971. Retrieved March 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Steers overtake Mustangs 22–18". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 31, 1971. Retrieved March 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Phillips guides Steers over Baylor Bears, 24–0". The Galveston Daily News. November 7, 1971. Retrieved March 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "UT nearer Cotton". The Kilgore News Herald. November 14, 1971. Retrieved March 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Longhorns stop Aggies, 34–14". The Waco Times-Herald. November 26, 1971. Retrieved March 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Penn State whips Texas". The Cincinnati Enquirer. January 2, 1972. Retrieved March 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "1971–72 NCAA Statistics (Texas)". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved March 26, 2025.
13. Cawood, Neil (October 3, 1971). "Oregon overpowered by Longhorns, 35-7". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1C.
14. Pro Football Reference.com Archived 2007-12-21 at the Wayback Machine - 1972 NFL Draft