1971 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

The 1971 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. It was the Mountaineers' 79th overall season and they competed as an independent. The team was led by head coach Bobby Bowden, in his second year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of 7–4.

1971 West Virginia Mountaineers football
ConferenceIndependent
Record7–4
Head coach
Home stadiumMountaineer Field
Seasons
← 1970
1972 →
1971 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Penn State     11 1 0
Boston College     9 2 0
No. 17 Houston     9 3 0
No. 13 Notre Dame     8 2 0
Utah State     8 3 0
Florida State     8 4 0
Cincinnati     7 4 0
West Virginia     7 4 0
Temple     6 2 1
Air Force     6 4 0
Army     6 4 0
Colgate     6 4 0
Villanova     6 4 1
South Carolina     6 5 0
Southern Miss     6 5 0
Georgia Tech     6 6 0
New Mexico State     5 5 1
Northern Illinois     5 5 1
Syracuse     5 5 1
Dayton     5 6 0
Holy Cross     4 6 0
Miami (FL)     4 7 0
Rutgers     4 7 0
Virginia Tech     4 7 0
Navy     3 8 0
Pittsburgh     3 8 0
Tulane     3 8 0
Marshall     2 8 0
Xavier     1 9 0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

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DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 11Boston CollegeW 45–1431,500[1]
September 18at CaliforniaL 10–2023,001–25,000[2][3]
September 25at RichmondW 16–311,000[4]
October 2Pittsburgh
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
W 20–938,500[5]
October 9at William & MaryW 28–2315,000[6]
October 16East Carolina
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 44–2127,000[7]
October 23Temple
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 43–3325,000[8]
October 30No. 5 Penn State
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
L 7–3537,000[9]
November 6at DukeL 15–3130,150[10]
November 13VMI
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 28–324,000[11]
November 20at SyracuseL 24–2818,049[12]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

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Pittsburgh

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Pittsburgh at West Virginia
1 234Total
Pittsburgh 3 600 9
West Virginia 13 007 20
  • Date: October 2
  • Location: Morgantown, West Virginia
  • Game attendance: 38,500

References

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  1. ^ "West Virginia defeats BC". The Times and Democrat. September 12, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Cal zaps Mountaineers". Oakland Tribune. September 19, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "California vs West Virginia Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  4. ^ "UR defense stands out despite loss". Richmond Times-Dispatch. September 26, 1971. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "WVU gets revenge 20–9". Beckley Post-Herald & Register. October 3, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "West Virginia rallies past William & Mary". The News and Observer. October 10, 1971. Retrieved January 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "WVU defense intercepts four E. Carolina passes". Beckley Post-Herald and Register. October 17, 1971. Retrieved March 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Speed gives WVU edge". The Dominon News. October 24, 1971. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Mitchell, Harris boost Penn State". The State. October 31, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Searl sparks Duke to win". Asheville Citizen-Times. November 7, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "WVU downs stubborn VMI". The Pittsburgh Press. November 14, 1971. Retrieved February 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Orange nips Mountaineers". The Tampa Tribune. November 21, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.