The 1971 Rice Owls football team was an American football team that represented Rice University in the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. In its first and only season under head coach Bill Peterson, the team compiled a 3–7–1 record (2–4–1 against SWC opponents), finished sixth in the conference, and was outscored by a total of 220 to 146.[1] The team played its home games at Rice Stadium in Houston.
| 1971 Rice Owls football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Southwest Conference |
| Record | 3–7–1 (2–4–1 SWC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Home stadium | Rice Stadium |
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The team's statistical leaders included Bruce Gadd with 1,061 passing yards, Stahle Vincent with 945 rushing yards, Gary Butler with 397 receiving yards, and Bubba Berg and Stahle Vincent with 18 points each.[2] Stahle Vincent was selected by the Associated Press as a first-team running back on the 1971 All-Southwest Conference football team.
Schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 11 | Houston* | L 21–23 | 62,000 | ||||
| September 18 | No. 17 USC* |
| L 0–24 | 22,000 | |||
| September 25 | Tulane* |
| W 14–11 | 25,000 | [3] | ||
| October 2 | at No. 16 LSU* | L 3–38 | 65,976 | [4] | |||
| October 16 | SMU |
| L 10–16 | 25,000 | |||
| October 23 | at No. 16 Texas | L 10–39 | 61,000 | ||||
| October 30 | at Texas Tech | W 9–7 | 38,340 | ||||
| November 6 | No. 16 Arkansas |
| T 24–24 | ||||
| November 13 | Texas A&M |
| L 13–18 | 47,000 | |||
| November 20 | at TCU | L 19–20 | |||||
| November 27 | Baylor |
| W 23–0 | 15,000 | [5] | ||
| |||||||
References
edit- ^ "1971 Rice Owls Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "1971 Rice Owls Statistics". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "Rice trims Tulane 14–11 for Petersen's first win". The Victoria Advocate. September 26, 1971. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tigers pick Owls, 38–3". The Odessa American. October 3, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Rice Blanks Bears, 23-0". The Marshall News Messenger. November 28, 1971. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.