1971 Washington State Cougars football team

1971 Washington State Cougars football
ConferencePacific-8 Conference
Record4–7 (2–5 Pac-8)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorSam Jankovich (4th season)
Captains
  • Brian Lange
  • Ken Lyday
  • Steve Busch
Home stadiumJoe Albi Stadium
Seasons
← 1970
1972 →
1971 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Stanford $ 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 20 USC 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 4 – 1
No. 19 Washington 4 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
California 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Oregon State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Oregon 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Washington State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
UCLA 1 – 4 – 1 2 – 7 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Jim Sweeney, they compiled a 4–7 record (2–5 in Pac-8, seventh), and were outscored 286 to 246.[1][2]

The team's statistical leaders included junior quarterback Ty Payne with 1,206 passing yards, senior running back Bernard Jackson with 1,189 rushing yards, and wide receiver Ike Nelson with 349 receiving yards.[3][4][5]

The Cougars defeated tenth-ranked Stanford, the defending and future Rose Bowl champions, in Palo Alto on October 23,[6][7][8] but lost their third straight Apple Cup.[9][10] Washington State did not play the Battle of the Palouse in 1971, and neighbor Idaho had their best season to date, winning eight consecutive games.

Due to the fire damage to Rogers Field in Pullman in April 1970,[11] the Cougars played their entire home schedule eighty miles (130 km) north of campus at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane in 1970 and 1971.[12]

  1. ^ "1971 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  2. ^ "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 76. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  3. ^ "1971 Washington State Cougars Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  4. ^ Missildine, Harry (September 18, 1971). "Cougs have ample reason to exhibit hostility today". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 14.
  5. ^ "Cougar offensive records tumble". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 25, 1971. p. 32.
  6. ^ Missildine, Harry (October 24, 1971). "Cool Cougs earn 'Sweet' victory". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  7. ^ "Wow! Cougars upend Stanford". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 24, 1971. p. 1B.
  8. ^ Strickland, Carter (September 2, 2000). "How Sweet it was to knock off Stanford". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C7.
  9. ^ Missildine, Harry (November 21, 1971). "Washington wins weirdly". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  10. ^ "Huskies stymie Jackson, hand WSU 28-20 loss". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 21, 1971. p. 1B.
  11. ^ "Fast blaze ruins Pullman stadium". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). April 6, 1970. p. 1.
  12. ^ Leeson, Fred (December 19, 1971). "Stadium to proceed". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 6, sports.