1971 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

The 1971 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 77th overall and 38th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Bear Bryant, in his 14th year, and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished season with eleven wins and one loss (11–1 overall, 7–0 in the SEC), as SEC champions and with a loss to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

1971 Alabama Crimson Tide football
SEC champion
Orange Bowl, L 6–38 vs. Nebraska
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 4
Record11–1 (7–0 SEC)
Head coach
Captains
Home stadiumDenny Stadium
Legion Field
1971 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Alabama $ 7 –0 –011 –1 –0
No. 7 Georgia 5 –1 –011 –1 –0
No. 12 Auburn 5 –1 –09 –2 –0
No. 15 Ole Miss 4 –2 –010 –2 –0
No. 9 Tennessee 4 –2 –010 –2 –0
No. 11 LSU 3 –2 –09 –3 –0
Vanderbilt 1 –5 –04 –6 –1
Florida 1 –6 –04 –7 –0
Kentucky 1 –6 –03 –8 –0
Mississippi State 1 –7 –02 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 squad was notable for a pair of firsts in Alabama football history. This was the first team that African Americans contributed as members of the Alabama varsity squad, with John Mitchell being the first to actually see playing time. 1971 also marked the first season the Crimson Tide utilized the wishbone offense that Alabama became noted for throughout the remainder of Bryant's tenure as head coach at Alabama.

Alabama opened the season with an upset victory at USC. This was the first game that the wishbone was utilized by the Crimson Tide offense, and their victory was attributed in part to surprising the Trojans with its introduction. They then won their next four games over Southern Miss, Florida, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt and set up a top 20 match-up against Tennessee. In their rival game, the Crimson Tide ended a four-game losing streak to the Vols with their 32–15 victory. After a hard-fought win over Houston and victory over Mississippi State at Jackson, Alabama defeated LSU for their third win over a ranked team on the season.

The Crimson Tide next defeated Miami on homecoming and set up a match-up between undefeated teams for the first time in the history of the Iron Bowl to close the regular season. With both teams ranked in the top five, Alabama defeated Auburn 31–7 and captured the outright SEC football championship. However, they were unable to capture a national championship as they were defeated by No. 1 Nebraska 38–6 to close the season in the Orange Bowl.

Integration

Although several African American students competed during spring practice in 1967, Wilbur Jackson became the first African American awarded a scholarship to play for Alabama, and he competed as a member of the freshman squad in 1970 and played for the varsity team in 1971.[1][2] For the 1971 season, John Mitchell became the first African American to play on the varsity squad for the Crimson Tide during the regular season after he transferred from Eastern Arizona College.[3][4][5][6]

While the Crimson Tide finally fielded Black Players, they lost the National Championship to a well Integrated University of Nebraska team.[7] Nebraska's best players who made the difference in the blowout victory were African Americans including Outland Trophy Winner Rich Glover, future Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers and bowl game MVP Willie Harper amongst others. Nebraska's victory played a part in causing the SEC as a whole to integrate their teams [8] and that integration would help Alabama reinvorgate their team creating a new dynasty winning National Championships in the years to come.

Wishbone offense

In 1968, Texas head coach Darrell Royal and his offensive coordinator Emory Bellard introduced what would become known as the wishbone offense.[9] The wishbone was derived from the Split-T offense run at Oklahoma under Bud Wilkinson. In the formation, the quarterback lines up with a fullback and two tailbacks behind him, and on any play may keep the ball, hand off to the fullback, or pitch to a tailback.[9] From the time Bryant arrived at Alabama through the 1970 season, the Crimson Tide ran a pro-style offense.[10] By 1969, Bryant began to recruit larger linemen and tailbacks, and after a pair of six win seasons in 1969 and 1970, Bryant saw the success of the wishbone for the Longhorns and decided to implement the offense for the 1971 season.[10][11] In spring 1971, Alabama assistants Mal Moore and Jimmy Sharpe traveled to Austin where they saw first hand how the wishbone operated during Texas' final week of spring practice.[11]

During the second summer session at the University, both Moore and Sharpe began to work with players on the offensive change, and in August Royal and Bellard traveled to Tuscaloosa and led a coaching clinic for the Alabama staff on the wishbone.[10][11] In order to keep the change a secret, Bryant closed all of the Crimson Tide's practices closed from the public, screened the practice field from view with a canvas and hired security to keep people away.[10] The change to the wishbone was kept under such secrecy that when the media would visit practice, Bryant had the team practice the pro-style system that was phased out.[11] Alabama later opened the season with an upset victory over USC that was credited to the surprise switch to the wishbone that caught the Trojans off-guard.[10][11]

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 10at No. 5 USC*No. 16
W 17–1067,781
September 18Southern Miss*No. 9
W 42–652,701
September 25at FloridaNo. 8
W 38–061,832
October 2Ole MissNo. 7
W 40–672,871
October 9at VanderbiltNo. 6
W 42–034,000
October 16No. 14 TennesseeNo. 4
W 32–1573,828
October 23Houston*No. 4
  • Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL
W 34–2056,939
October 30at Mississippi StateNo. 4
W 41–1040,500
November 6at No. 18 LSUNo. 4
ABCW 14–764,892
November 13Miami*daggerNo. 4
  • Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL
W 31–357,313
November 27vs. No. 5 AuburnNo. 3
ABCW 31–768,861
January 1, 1972vs. No. 1 Nebraska*No. 2
NBCL 6–3878,151
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[12]

Game summaries

USC
See also: 1971 USC Trojans football team
1 234Total
• #16 Alabama 10 700 17
#5 USC 0 1000 10
  • Date: September 10
  • Location: Memorial Coliseum
    Los Angeles, CA
  • Game attendance: 67,781

After the NCAA enacted a rule that allowed its member institutions to schedule an eleventh regular season game, in January 1970 the Crimson Tide agreed to a home-and-home series with the University of Southern California (USC).[15] At the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Alabama upset the No. 5 Trojans 17–10 on a Friday night to open the 1971 season.[13][14][16] The Crimson Tide took a 10–0 lead in the first quarter behind a 13-yard Johnny Musso touchdown run and a 37-yard Bill Davis field goal. They extended it further to 17–0 early in the second quarter on an eight-yard Musso touchdown run.[13][14]

USC responds with ten unanswered points and made the halftime score 17–10. They scored first on a seven-yard Charles Young touchdown run and next on a 37-yard Mike Rae field goal.[13][14] Neither team scored in the second half as both defenses created several turnovers and Alabama won 17–10.[13][14] The victory was also the 200th career win for Alabama head coach Bear Bryant.[13] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Southern Cal to 3–1.[17]

Southern Miss
See also: 1971 Southern Miss Southerners football team
1 234Total
Southern Miss 0 006 6
• #9 Alabama 7 14147 42
  • Date: September 18
  • Location: Denny Stadium
    Tuscaloosa, AL
  • Game attendance: 52,701

After their victory over USC, Alabama moved into the No. 9 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Southern Miss.[20] In their home opener, Alabama played 62 different players and defeated the Southerners 42–6 at Denny Stadium.[16][18][19] Johnny Musso gave the Crimson Tide a 14–0 lead with touchdown runs of one-yard in the first and 16-yards in the second quarter. Ellis Beck then extended their lead to 21–0 with his one-yard touchdown run prior to halftime.[18][19]

The Crimson Tide extended their lead further to 35–0 with third quarter touchdowns scored on a four-yard Joe LaBue run and a 25-yard Benny Rippetoe pass to William Wood.[18][19] Southern Miss ended the shutout attempt with a nine-yard Doyle Orange touchdown run in the fourth, and Alabama closed with an 18-yard Steve Bisceglia touchdown run that made the final score 42–6.[18][19] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Southern Miss to 12–2–1.[21]

Florida
See also: 1971 Florida Gators football team
1 234Total
• #8 Alabama 10 1477 38
Florida 0 000 0
  • Date: September 25
  • Location: Florida Field
    Gainesville, FL
  • Game attendance: 61,832

After their victory over Southern Miss, Alabama moved into the No. 8 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Florida.[24] Against the Gators, Johnny Musso scored four rushing touchdowns en route to a 38–0 shutout at Florida Field.[16][22][23] After Bill Davis gave the Crimson Tide a 3–0 lead with his first quarter field goal, Musso scored Alabama's next four touchdowns and extended their lead to 31–0.[22][23] All four came on the ground with a pair from one-yard out, a three-yard run and a five-yard run.[22][23] Alabama then closed the game with an 11-yard Billy Sexton touchdown pass to Dexter Wood that made the final score 38–0.[22][23]

The four touchdowns scored by Musso on the ground set a new school record for rushing touchdowns. Additionally, the shutout was the first for the Crimson Tide defense since their 17–0 victory in 1967 over South Carolina.[23] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Florida to 11–5.[25]

Ole Miss
See also: 1971 Ole Miss Rebels football team
1 234Total
Ole Miss 0 600 6
• #7 Alabama 3 101413 40
  • Date: October 2
  • Location: Legion Field
    Birmingham, AL
  • Game attendance: 72,871

After their victory over Florida, Alabama moved into the No. 7 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Ole Miss.[28] Looking to avenge the 48–23 loss from the previous season, the Crimson Tide defeated the Rebels 40–6 at Legion Field.[16][26][27] After Bill Davis gave the Crimson Tide a 6–0 with field goals of 25 and 42-yards, Ole Miss tied the game 6–6 with what was their only points of the game. The score came on a 48-yard Kenneth Lyons touchdown pass to Elmer Allen in the second quarter.[26][27] Alabama responded with an 11-yard Terry Davis touchdown pass to David Bailey that made the halftime score 13–6.[26][27]

Alabama extended their lead to 27–6 in the third quarter behind touchdown runs of 29-yards by Joe LaBue and seven-yards by Johnny Musso.[26][27] The Crimson Tide then closed the game with touchdown runs of 15-yards by Steve Bisceglia and 14-yards by Butch Hobson that made the final score 40–6.[26][27] The 531 rushing yards made by Alabama were the most allowed by the Rebels' defense in school history.[29] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Ole Miss to 22–5–2.[30]

Vanderbilt
See also: 1971 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
1 234Total
• #6 Alabama 7 61514 42
Vanderbilt 0 000 0
  • Date: October 9
  • Location: Dudley Field
    Nashville, TN
  • Game attendance: 34,000

After their victory over Ole Miss, Alabama moved into the No. 6 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Vanderbilt.[33] Against the Commodores, the Alabama defense forced their second shutout of the season win this 42–0 victory at Dudley Field.[16][31][32] Johnny Musso gave the Crimson Tide a 7–0 lead with his 17-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Their lead was then stretched to 13–0 at halftime behind field goals of 33-yards by Bill Davis and 26-yards by Greg Gantt.[31][32]

Alabama closed the game with a pair of touchdowns in each of the final two quarters and won 42–0. Ellis Beck scored on a one-yard run and Terry Davis threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Jim Simmons in the third quarter. In the fourth, Bob McKinney scored on a 55-yard punt return and Johnny Sharpless scored on an 11-yard touchdown run.[31][32] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Vanderbilt to 28–17–4.[34]

Tennessee
See also: 1971 Tennessee Volunteers football team
Third Saturday in October
1 234Total
#14 Tennessee 7 008 15
• #4 Alabama 6 9710 32
  • Date: October 16
  • Location: Legion Field
    Birmingham, AL
  • Game attendance: 73,828

After their victory at Vanderbilt, Alabama moved into the No. 4 position and Tennessee into the No. 14 position in the AP Poll prior to their game at Legion Field.[37] Against the Volunteers, Alabama ended a four-game losing streak that dated back to their 1967 season with this 32–15 in their annual rivalry game.[16][35][36] After the Crimson Tide took an early 6–0 lead on a 20-yard Terry Davis touchdown pass to David Bailey, the Vols responded with a four-yard Curt Watson touchdown run that made the score 7–6 at the end of the first quarter.[35][36] Alabama then took a 15–6 halftime lead after a 27-yard Bill Davis field goal and six-yard Terry Davis touchdown run in the second quarter.[35][36]

Early in the third, the Crimson Tide extended their lead to 22–7 behind a 16-yard Terry Davis touchdown pass to Bailey.[35][36] Tennessee responded in the fourth with a nine-yard Watson touchdown run that cut the Alabama lead to 22–15. However, the Crimson Tide closed the game with a 39-yard Bill Davis field goal and five-yard Johnny Musso touchdown run for the 32–15 victory.[35][36] The 73,828 in attendance set a new record for largest crowd in the history of Legion Field to date.[38] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Tennessee to 24–23–7.[39]

Houston
See also: 1971 Houston Cougars football team
1 234Total
Houston 0 776 20
• #4 Alabama 7 1368 34
  • Date: October 23
  • Location: Denny Stadium
    Tuscaloosa, AL
  • Game attendance: 56,939

With their over the Vols, Alabama retained their No. 4 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Houston.[42] Although the Cougars outgained the Crimson Tide by over 100 total yards, Alabama won 34–20 at Denny Stadium.[16][40][41] Alabama took a 7–0 first quarter lead on a two-yard Johnny Musso touchdown run, but Houston then scored on a three-yard Tom Mozisek touchdown run that tied the game 7–7 early in the second.[40][41] The Crimson Tide responded with a pair of Terry Davis touchdown passes to David Bailey from 10 and 25-yards that gave Alabama a 20–7 halftime lead.[40][41]

Both teams then traded touchdowns in the second half en route to the 34–20 Crimson Tide victory. In the third quarter, Musso scored for Alabama first with his nine-yard run and Houston followed with a three-yard Gary Mullins touchdown pass to Riley Odoms; in the fourth Joe LaBue scored for the Crimson tide on a 10-yard run and Mullins threw a second, three-yard pass to Odoms that made the final score 34–20.[40][41] In the game, Musso had 132 yards rushing for Alabama and both Robert Newhouse and Tom Mozisek each had over 100 yards rushing for Houston with 182 and 105 respectively.[41] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Houston to 7–0.[43]

Mississippi State
See also: 1971 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team
1 234Total
• #4 Alabama 3 14024 41
Mississippi State 0 370 10
  • Date: October 30
  • Location: Memorial Stadium
    Jackson, MS
  • Game attendance: 40,500

As they entered their game against Mississippi State, Alabama retained their No. 4 position in the AP Poll.[46] At Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, the visiting Crimson Tide did not allow an offensive touchdown and defeated the Bulldogs 41–10.[16][44][45] After Alabama took a 3–0 first quarter lead behind a 20-yard Bill Davis field goal, they scored a pair of touchdowns in the second. The first came on a 31-yard Terry Davis pass to Wayne Wheeler and the second on a 30-yard Steve Higginbotham interception return.[44][45] The Bulldogs then made the halftime score 17–3 behind a 41-yard Glenn Ellis field goal at the end of the second.[44][45]

State cut the Alabama lead to 17–10 on an 88-yard Frank Dowsing punt return in the third. However, the Crimson Tide closed the game with 24 unanswered points for the 41–10 win.[44][45] Fourth quarter points were scored on a 33-yard Bill Davis field goal, touchdowns on runs of one-yard by Johnny Musso and 16-yards by David Knapp and on a one-yard Terry Davis pass to Glenn Woodruff.[44][45] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi State to 43–10–3.[47]

The win was Bryant's 116th win at Alabama and broke Frank Thomas' record of 115 wins as the head coach of the Crimson Tide.

LSU
See also: 1971 LSU Tigers football team
1 234Total
• #4 Alabama 3 380 14
#18 LSU 0 070 7
  • Date: November 6
  • Location: Tiger Stadium
    Baton Rouge, LA
  • Game attendance: 64,892

After their victory over Mississippi State, Alabama retained their No. 4 position and LSU was in the No. 18 position in the AP Poll prior to their match-up at Baton Rouge.[50] Playing in a regionally televised game on ABC, Alabama defeated the Tigers 14–7 at Tiger Stadium.[16][48][49] Bill Davis scored all of the first half points with his field goals of 29 and 38-yards that gave Alabama a 6–0 halftime lead.[48][49] Scoring concluded in the third quarter behind a 16-yard Terry Davis touchdown run for the Crimson Tide and a seven-yard Paul Lyons touchdown pass to Andy Hamilton that made the final score 14–7.[48][49] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against LSU to 21–10–4.[51]

Miami
See also: 1971 Miami Hurricanes football team
1 234Total
Miami 3 000 3
• #4 Alabama 13 387 31
  • Date: November 13
  • Location: Denny Stadium
    Tuscaloosa, AL
  • Game attendance: 57,313

As they entered their game against Miami, Alabama retained their No. 4 position in the AP Poll for a fifth consecutive week. On homecoming in Tuscaloosa, Alabama defeated Hurricanes 31–3 at Denny Stadium.[16][52][53] Mike Burke scored the only Miami points with his 42-yard field goal in the first and gave the Hurricanes their only lead at 3–0.[52][53] The Crimson Tide responded with a pair of touchdowns later in the first on runs of 22-yards by Terry Davis and 67-yards by Wilbur Jackson. A 27-yard Bill Davis field goal in the second gave Alabama a 16–3 halftime lead.[52][53]

The Crimson Tide closed the game with a six-yard Terry Davis touchdown run in the third and a 10-yard Butch Hobson touchdown run in the fourth for the 31–3 Alabama win.[52][53] With their 345 offensive yards in the game, Alabama surpassed the previous SEC season record for total offense of 3,068 yards set by Tennessee in 1951.[53] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Miami to 9–2.[54]

Auburn
See also: 1971 Auburn Tigers football team
Iron Bowl
1 234Total
#5 Auburn 0 700 7
• #3 Alabama 14 0017 31
  • Date: November 27
  • Location: Legion Field
    Birmingham, AL
  • Game attendance: 68,861

As they entered their annual rivalry game against Auburn, Alabama moved into the No. 3 position and the Tigers were in the No. 5 position in the AP Poll prior to the first top five match-up in the Iron Bowl.[57] In what was the first Alabama–Auburn game that featured two undefeated teams, the Crimson Tide defeated their rival 31–7 and captured the outright SEC championship for the 1971 season.[16][55][56] Alabama took a 14–0 lead behind first quarter touchdown runs of six and 11-yards by Terry Davis. Auburn responded with a 31-yard Harry Unger touchdown pass to Terry Beasley in the second quarter that made the halftime score 14–7.[55][56]

After a scoreless third, the Crimson Tide scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and won 31–7. After Bill Davis connected on a 41-yard field goal, Johnny Musso scored on touchdown runs of 12 and six-yards in the victory.[55][56] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Auburn to 19–16–1.[58]

Nebraska
See also: 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team and 1972 Orange Bowl
Orange Bowl
1 234Total
#2 Alabama 0 060 6
• #1 Nebraska 14 1437 38
  • Date: January 1
  • Location: Orange Bowl
    Miami, FL
  • Game attendance: 78,151

In what was a No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup for the national championship, Alabama was dominated by the Nebraska Cornhuskers 38–6 in the Orange Bowl.[59][60] Nebraska stormed out to a 28–0 halftime lead after they scored a pair of touchdowns in the first two quarters. Jeff Kinney scored on a two-yard run and Johnny Rodgers on a 77-yard punt return in the first; Jerry Tagge scored on a one-yard run and Gary Dixon on a two-yard run in the second quarter.[59][60]

Alabama then scored their only points on a three-yard Terry Davis touchdown run in the third and made the score 28–6.[59][60] However, the Cornhuskers closed the game with a 21-yard Rich Sanger field goal in the third and a one-yard Van Brownson touchdown run in the fourth that made the final score 38–6.[59][60] The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Nebraska to 2–1.[61]

NFL Draft

Several players that were varsity lettermen from the 1971 squad were drafted into the National Football League (NFL) in the 1972, 1973 and 1974 drafts. These players included:

Year Round Overall Player name Position NFL team
1972 NFL Draft
[62]		 3 62 Johnny Musso Running back Chicago Bears
11 266 David Bailey Wide receiver Green Bay Packers
15 386 Robin Parkhouse Linebacker Baltimore Colts
16 411 Steve Higginbotham Defensive back Washington Redskins
1973 NFL Draft
[62]		 1 4 John Hannah Offensive guard New England Patriots
7 174 John Mitchell Defensive end San Francisco 49ers
12 309 Jim Krapf Guard Oakland Raiders
1974 NFL Draft
[62]		 1 9 Wilbur Jackson Running back San Francisco 49ers
3 54 Wayne Wheeler Wide receiver Chicago Bears
6 138 Mike Raines Defensive tackle San Francisco 49ers
8 187 Greg Gantt Punter New York Jets
16 2 Buddy Brown Guard New York Giants

Freshman squad

Prior to the 1972 NCAA University Division football season, NCAA rules prohibited freshmen from participating on the varsity team, and as such many schools fielded freshmen teams.[63][64] The Alabama freshmen squad was led by coach Clem Gryska for the 1971 season and finished with a record of four wins and one loss (4–1).[65] The Baby Tide opened the season with a 28–23 victory over Navy at Annapolis.[66] After Randy Billingsley gave Alabama an early 7–0 lead with his nine-yard touchdown run, Navy responded with a trick play that saw Jim O'Brien throw a 33-yard touchdown pass to John Brodhead.[66] In the second quarter, Billingsley scored on a one-yard touchdown run, and again the Midshipmen responded with a 20-yard Brodhead touchdown pass to Rhett Bray that made the halftime score 14–13.[66] The Baby Tide extended their lead to 21–13 after Bob Holmes scored on a three-yard run on the first drive of the third quarter. However, Navy responded with a 46-yard Brodhead touchdown pass to Ward Hill and next with a safety and took a 23–21 lead.[66] Ralph Stokes then went on and scored the game-winning touchdown for Alabama in the fourth quarter on a 38-yard run that made the final score 28–23.[66]

In their only home game of the season, the Baby Tide ran for 359 yards and six touchdowns en route to a 41–7 win over Vanderbilt on a Friday afternoon.[67] The next week, Alabama rallied from a 15-point deficit and defeated Tulane 23–22 at New Orleans.[68] After Danny Ridgeway gave the Baby Tide an early 7–0 lead, Tulane responded with the next 22 points and opened a 22–7 lead.[68] Green Wave points were scored on a 43-yard Steve Foley touchdown pass to Robert Johnson, a one-yard Foley touchdown run, a 50-yard John Washington punt return and on a 31-yard David Falgue field goal.[68] Alabama then rallied for the 23–22 victory behind a pair of Bob Holmes touchdown runs and a pair of Ralph Stokes two-point conversions in the fourth quarter.[68] At Knoxville, a 36–13 loss to the Volunteers ended an eight-game winning streak for the Baby Tide.[69] Alabama took an early 7–0 lead after Duffy Boles scored on a one-yard run that was set up after the Baby Tide recovered a Tennessee fumble at their one-yard line.[69] The Vols tied the game 7–7 early in the second quarter on a 35-yard Condredge Holloway touchdown pass to John Yarbrough. They then took a 10–7 lead later in the second on a 32-yard Ricky Townsend field goal, and then extended their lead to 16–7 at halftime behind a five-yard halfback pass from Neil Clabo to Holloway.[69] Tennessee further extended their lead to 29–7 with a pair of touchdown runs from John Sapp and one from Kent Fullington in the third quarter.[69] In the fourth, Jim Turley recovered a Tennessee fumble for a touchdown and Carl Stinson scored on a one-yard run for the Vols and made the final score 36–13.[69]

In their final game of the season, before 15,000 fans at Cliff Hare Stadium, Alabama defeated Auburn 13–6.[65] After a scoreless first half, Auburn scored their only points on a 48-yard Mike Fuller touchdown reception in the third quarter.[65] Bob Holmes tied the game 6–6 late in the third with his one-yard run, and Randy Billingsley followed in the fourth quarter with his game-winning, two-yard touchdown run.[65] In the game, the Tigers had seven turnovers and both teams missed several scoring opportunities.[65]

Freshman "Baby Tide" roster: Danny Ridgeway/QB/#10, Mark Prudhomme/QB/#11, Duffy Boles/HB/#20, Ricky Davis/HB/#21, Mike Washington/HB/#24, James Taylor/FLK/#25, Bob Holmes/FB/#30, Randy Billingsley/HB/#31, Steve Ford/HB/#40, Mike Riley/HB/#41, Ralph Stokes/HB/#42, Gary Yelvington/HB/#43, Drew Cook/HB/#44, Ray Maxwell/LB/#45, Dwight Brown/LB/#46, Dennis Durrance/LB/#48, Mike Dubose/LB/#50, Dudley Sheppard/C/#51, Robert Brophy/E/#53, James Braasch/LB/#57, Steve Kulback/G/#60, Richard Whitley/G/#62, John Lewis/G/#63, Rodney Brown/G/#64, Rudy Wooten/T/#70, Barry McGee/T/#71, David Hagan/T/#72, John Hollis/T/#73, David Capan/T/#74, Lamar Langley/T/#75, Randy Hall/T/#76, Bob Bryan/T/#77, Rick Meadows/T/#78, Ronnie Barnes/E/#80, Terry Mager/E/#81, Joe Dale Harris/E/#82, Gene Lunceford/E/#83, Tom Nelson/E/#84, Glenn Turley/E/#85, Sylvester Croom/C/#87.

Roster
1971 Alabama Crimson Tide football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
WR 84 David Bailey Sr
G 53 Marvin Barron Jr
RB 35 Ellis Beck Jr
RB 44 Steve Bisceglia Jr
OT 65 Buddy Brown So
TE 43 Richard Bryan So
C 59 Chip Burke So
WR 46 Jerry Cash Sr
G Joe Cochran So
OT 70 Don Cokely Sr
TE 47 Wayne Cotton Jr
OT 75 Allen Cox Jr
QB 10 Terry Davis Jr
RB 39 Steve Dean Jr
OT 91 Mike Denson So
WR 31 Warren Dyar Jr
C 69 Mike Eckenrod Jr
G 62 Tommy Ford Jr
C 55 Jimmy Grammer Sr
OT 73 John Hannah Jr
QB 17 Butch Hobson Jr
TE 86 Jimmy Horton Jr
G 60 Morris Hunt Jr
WR 80 Wilbur Jackson So
WR 19 Pat Keever So
RB 30 Joe LaBue Jr
C 58 Rand Lambert So
C 51 Fred Marshall Sr
TE 87 Randy Moore Jr
RB 20 Phil Murphy So
RB 22 Johnny Musso Sr
WR 6 Pete Pappas So
G 71 Steve Patterson So
C 53 Pat Raines Jr
G 79 Gary Reynolds So
RB 16 Ron Richardson Sr
QB 15 Benny Rippetoe Sr
G 61 John Rogers So
G 68 Rick Rogers So
OT 72 Jimmy Rosser Sr
QB 11 Gary Rutledge So
WR 27 Bubba Sawyer Sr
QB 14 Billy Sexton Jr
TE 85 Jim Simmons Sr
RB 24 Paul Spivey So
OT 78 Steve Sprayberry So
WR 34 Tommy Steakley Sr
WR 88 Danny Taylor Jr
WR 82 Wayne Wheeler Jr
G 66 Jack White Sr
WR 92 Dexter Wood Jr
TE 7 Glenn Woodruff Sr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DB 21 Wayne Atkinson Jr
DL 77 Jeff Beard Sr
DB 25 Jeff Blitz Jr
DB 48 Robin Cary So
LB 52 Andy Cross Jr
DE 83 John Croyle Jr
DB 37 Jimmy Dawson So
DB 41 Joe Doughty So
DT Woody Flowers So
DE Don Groves So
LB 50 Wayne Hall Jr
DB 49 Steve Higginbotham Sr
DE 89 Ed Hines Sr
DT 95 Skip Kubelius So
LB 54 Jim Krapf Jr
DE 98 Frank Lary So
WR 81 Darrell Owen So
DT 99 Greg Mantooth So
DB 26 Bob McKinney Jr
DB 18 David McMakin So
LB 94 Noah Miller So
DE 97 John Mitchell Jr
DB 40 Lanny Norris Jr
DE 90 Robin Parkhouse Sr
DL 96 Jim Patterson Sr
DT 74 Max Raines So
DB 23 Mike Riley Fr
LB 38 Ronnie Robertson So
LB 67 Steve Root Sr
LB 56 Jeff Rouzie Jr
DB 29 Robby Rowan Jr
DL 57 Terry Rowell Sr
DB 23 Johnny Sharpless So
LB 36 Chuck Strickland So
LB 42 Tom Surlas Sr
DB 33 Carl Tayloe Jr
DB 32 Steve Wade Jr
DE 93 David Watkins So
DL 76 Mitchell Weaver Jr
DB 28 Steve Williams Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
PK 1 Bill Davis So
PK 8 Greg Gantt So
PK 9 John Dorough So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 15, 2013

References

General

  • "1971 Season Recaps" (PDF). RollTide.com. University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  • "2012 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Record Book" (PDF). Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Athletics Media Relations Office. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 17, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2014.

Specific

  1. Al-Khateeb, Zac (February 27, 2011). "Jackson, Mitchell paved the way". The Crimson White. CW.UA.edu. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  2. "Alabama Sports Hall of Fame – Wilbur Jackson". Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  3. Scarbinsky, Kevin (October 30, 2013). "Walk-ons played a role, too, in integrating Alabama and Auburn football". AL.com. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
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  16. 1971 Season Recap
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