| 1971 NCAA College Division football season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champion(s) | Delaware (AP, UPI) Tennessee State (black) | |||
| ||||
The1971 NCAA College Division football season was the 16th season ofcollege football in the United States organized by theNational Collegiate Athletic Association at theNCAA College Division level.
College Division teams (also referred to as "small college") were ranked in polls by theAP (a panel of writers) and byUPI (coaches). The national champion(s) for each season were determined by the final poll rankings, published at or near the end of the regular season, before any bowl games were played.
Delaware, who during the regular season had defeatedRutgers,Villanova, andBoston University, averaged 40 points per game, and had a 9–1 record, was ranked first by both UPI and AP; both polls also rankedMcNeese State (9–0–1) second, andEastern Michigan (7–0–2) third.[1][2]
United Press International (coaches) final poll
| Associated Press (writers) final poll
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The postseason consisted of fourbowl games as regional finals, all played on December 11. This was the first year for thePioneer Bowl; it succeeded thePecan Bowl, which had been played inArlington, Texas.
Top-rankedDelaware metC.W. Post in theBoardwalk Bowl; played indoors atConvention Hall,[5] Delaware won by 50 points in a rout.[6] The next two teams in the polls both lost;Eastern Michigan was defeated byLouisiana Tech in thePioneer Bowl, andMcNeese State fell toTennessee State—led by futureNational Football League quarterbackJoe Gilliam—in theGrantland Rice Bowl. Out west in theCamellia Bowl,Boise State mounted a 25–0 fourth quarter comeback to defeatChico State.[7]
| Bowl | Region | Location | Winning team | Losing team | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boardwalk | East | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Delaware | 72 | C.W. Post | 22 | [8] |
| Grantland Rice | Mideast | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Tennessee State | 26 | McNeese State | 23 | [9] |
| Pioneer | Midwest | Wichita Falls, Texas | Louisiana Tech | 14 | Eastern Michigan | 3 | [10] |
| Camellia | West | Sacramento, California | Boise State | 32 | Chico State | 28 | [11] |