1971 Boston College Eagles football team

The 1971Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College as an independent during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Joe Yukica, the Eagles compiled a record of 9–2, but were not invited to a bowl game. They were passed up for a spot in the Peach Bowl in favor of four-loss Georgia Tech, partly due to the Eagles' reputation of having a slow, defense-heavy style of play.^[2] Boston College played home games at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

1971 Boston College Eagles football
Conference	Independent
Record	9–2
Head coach	Joe Yukica (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	John Petercuskie (3rd season)
Captain	Kevin Clemente, Ray Rippman[1]
Home stadium	Alumni Stadium
Seasons ← 1970 1972 →

1971 NCAA University Division independents football records

v t e	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

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	L 14–45	31,500	[3]
September 18	at Temple	Temple Stadium Philadelphia, PA	W 17–3	13,000	[4]
September 25	Navy	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 49–6	22,700
October 2	at Richmond	City Stadium Richmond, VA	W 24–0	6,500	[5]
October 9	Villanova	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 23–7	20,616
October 16	at Texas Tech	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX	L 6–14	32,480
October 23	Pittsburgh	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 40–22	26,854
November 6	at Syracuse	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	W 10–3	21,978
November 13	Northern Illinois	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 20–10	16,238
November 20	UMass	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (rivalry)	W 35–0	25,311
November 27	vs. Holy Cross	Schaefer Stadium Foxborough, MA (rivalry)	W 21–7	22,205	[6]

^[7][1]

Game notes

The game against rival Holy Cross was moved at the last minute to the newly constructed Schaefer Stadium (home of the New England Patriots until 2001) due to a heavy snowstorm making conditions unplayable at Fitton Field in Worcester.^[8]

Personnel

• RB #33 Fred Willis

References

1. 2016 Boston College football media guide. p. 183.
2. Nelson, Jerry (November 27, 1971). "Bowls Spurn Lackluster BC". Boston Globe. p. 17.
3. "West Virginia defeats BC". The Times and Democrat. September 12, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Boston College Spoils Temple Opener, Wins 17-3". The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 19, 1971 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Rippman rips Spiders for Eagles". The Charlotte Observer. October 3, 1971. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Nason, Jerry (November 28, 1971). "BC's Bombs Trip Up 'Soft Touch' HC, 21-7". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 85 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "1971 Boston College Eagles Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
8. Concannon, Joe (November 27, 1971). "Phone call switches BC-HC site to Schaefer". Boston Globe. p. 17.