1971 San Jose State Spartans football team

The 1971 San Jose State Spartans football team represented San Jose State College^{[note 1]} in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA)^{[note 2]} during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Led by second-year head coach Dewey King, they played home games at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California. With a 55–10 road rout of UC Santa Barbara, the Spartans ended the regular season at an even .500 with five wins, five losses, and one tie (5–5–1, 4–1 PCAA).

1971 San Jose State Spartans football
Pasadena Bowl, L 9–28 vs. Memphis State
Conference	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Record	5–6–1 (4–1 PCAA)
Head coach	Dewey King (2nd season)
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium
Seasons ← 1970 1972 →

1971 Pacific Coast Athletic Association football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Long Beach State $	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
San Jose State	4	–	1	–	0			5	–	6	–	1
Fresno State	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
San Diego State	2	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
UC Santa Barbara	2	–	3	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Pacific (CA)	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Cal State Los Angeles	0	–	3	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion

This season, San Jose State made its first bowl appearance as a major college program in the Pasadena Bowl. They faced the Memphis State Tigers on Saturday, December 18, but lost 9–28 to finish at 5–6–1.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18	at Fresno State	Ratcliffe Stadium Fresno, CA (rivalry)	L 7–14	8,526	[2]
September 25	at California*	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 10–34	19,851
October 2	at Houston*	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX	L 20–34	31,754
October 8	at Long Beach State	Anaheim Stadium Anaheim, CA	W 30–28	10,490	[3]
October 16	New Mexico*	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	T 21–21	15,374	[4]
October 23	at Oregon*	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	L 14–34	14,000
October 30	Pacific (CA)	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	W 28–18	12,162	[5]
November 6	San Diego State	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	W 45–7	16,394	[6]
November 13	at No. 10 Stanford*	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	W 13–12
November 20	No. 9 Arizona State*	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	L 6–49	23,500	[7]
November 27	at UC Santa Barbara	Campus Stadium Santa Barbara, CA	W 55–10
December 18	vs. Memphis State*	Rose Bowl Pasadena CA (Pasadena Bowl)	L 9–28	15,244	[1]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[8][9]

NFL Draft

Two Spartans were selected in the 1972 NFL draft.^[10]

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL club
Dave Chaney	Linebacker	14	360	Kansas City Chiefs
Eric Dahl	Defensive back	16	400	New England Patriots

Notes

1. San Jose State University was known as San Jose State College from 1935 to 1971.
2. The Big West Conference was known as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association from its founding in 1969 through 1987.