1971 Rice Owls football
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Record3–7–1 (2–4–1 SWC)
Head coach
Home stadiumRice Stadium
Seasons
← 1970
1972 →
1971 Southwest Conference football standings
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 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.

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

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 11Houston*
L 21–2362,000
September 18 No. 17 USC*
  • Rice Stadium
  • Houston, TX
L 0–2422,000
September 25Tulane*
  • Rice Stadium
  • Houston, TX
W 14–1125,000[3]
October 2at No. 16 LSU*
L 3–3865,976[4]
October 16SMU
L 10–1625,000
October 23at No. 16 Texas
L 10–3961,000
October 30at Texas Tech
W 9–738,340
November 6 No. 16 Arkansas
  • Rice Stadium
  • Houston, TX
T 24–24
November 13Texas A&M
  • Rice Stadium
  • Houston, TX
L 13–1847,000
November 20at TCU
L 19–20
November 27Baylor
  • Rice Stadium
  • Houston, TX
W 23–015,000[5]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

  1. ^ "1971 Rice Owls Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  2. ^ "1971 Rice Owls Statistics". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  3. ^ "Rice trims Tulane 14–11 for Petersen's first win". The Victoria Advocate. September 26, 1971. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Tigers pick Owls, 38–3". The Odessa American. October 3, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Rice Blanks Bears, 23-0". The Marshall News Messenger. November 28, 1971. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
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