1971 Colorado Buffaloes football team

1971 Colorado Buffaloes football
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl champion
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, W 31–21 vs. Houston
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
AP	No. 3
1971 record	10–2 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach	Eddie Crowder (9th season)
Home stadium	Folsom Field
Seasons

1971 Big 8 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#1 Nebraska	7	–	0	–	0			13	–	0	–	0
#2 Oklahoma	6	–	1	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
#3 Colorado	5	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Iowa State	4	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Kansas State	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Oklahoma State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	1
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Missouri	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. The Buffaloes scored 370 points and allowed 220 points. Led by head coach Eddie Crowder, the Buffaloes were 9–2 in the regular season, won the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, and finished third in the final rankings.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 11	at No. 9 LSU*		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, Louisiana		W 31–21	70,099
September 18	Wyoming*	No. 12	Folsom Field Boulder, Colorado		W 56–13	40,729
September 25	at No. 6 Ohio State*	No. 10	Ohio Stadium Columbus, Ohio		W 20–14	85,538
October 2	Kansas State	No. 6	Folsom Field Boulder, Colorado		W 31–21	47,740
October 9	at Iowa State	No. 5	Clyde Williams Field Ames, Iowa		W 24–14	31,535
October 16	at No. 2 Oklahoma	No. 6	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, Oklahoma		L 17–45	61,826
October 23	Missouri	No. 11	Folsom Field Boulder, Colorado		W 27–7	45,129
October 30	at No. 1 Nebraska	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska (rivalry)	ABC	L 7–31	67,776
November 6	at Kansas	No. 13	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, Kansas		W 35–14	35,299
November 13	Oklahoma State	No. 12	Folsom Field Boulder, Colorado		W 40–6	40,211
November 20	Air Force*	No. 10	Folsom Field Boulder, Colorado		W 53–17	46,362
December 31	vs. No. 15 Houston*	No. 7	Houston Astrodome Houston (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)	ABC	W 29–17	54,720
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1971 Colorado Buffaloes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 23 Branch, CliffCliff Branch 7.0 !Sr RB 26 Davis, CharlieCharlie Davis RB 41 Matthews, BoBo Matthews 3.0 !So TE 89 Cain, J.V.J.V. Cain 3.0 !So QB Johnson, KenKen Johnson WR Nichols, WillieWillie Nichols	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT Orvis, HerbHerb Orvis	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Eddie Crowder Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

NFL draft

Colorado Buffaloes selected in the 1972 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Herb Orvis	Defensive tackle	1	16	Detroit Lions
Cliff Branch	Wide receiver	4	98	Oakland Raiders

Source:

External links

• College Football Data Warehouse – Colorado Buffaloes (1970–1974)
• Sports Reference – 1971 Colorado football season