The 1971 Colorado State Rams football team was an American football squad that represented Colorado State University in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. In its second season under head coach Jerry Wampfler, the team compiled a 3–8 record (1–4 against WAC opponents).

Colorado State's senior running back, Lawrence McCutcheon, rushed for 1,112 yards and caught 19 passes for 197 yards.^[1] McCutcheon later played ten seasons in the National Football League and appeared in five Pro Bowls.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18	at BYU	BYU Stadium Provo, UT	L 14–54	31,087
September 25	at Idaho*	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	L 0–10	12,600	[2][3]
October 2	at Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, Wyoming, WY (rivalry)	L 6–17	17,849
October 9	No. 12 Arizona State	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	L 0–42	25,101
October 16	at Utah	Ute Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	L 16–42	10,148
October 23	No. 20 Air Force	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO (rivalry)	L 12–17	23,194
October 30	Utah State*	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	L 17–18	14,294
November 6	at Wichita State*	Cessna Stadium Wichita, KS	L 14–34	11,214
November 13	West Texas State*	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	W 36–14	13,348–13,384	[4]
November 20	at UTEP	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	W 24–7	7,842
November 27	New Mexico State*	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	W 38–21	9,475
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[5]