1971 Boise State Broncos football team

The 1971 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State College during the 1971 NCAA College Division football season, the fourth season of Bronco football (at the four-year level) and the second as members of the Big Sky Conference and NCAA. In the College Division (now Division II), they played their home games on campus at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho.

1971 Boise State Broncos football
Camellia Bowl, W 32–28 vs. Chico State
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 13 (College Division)
APNo. 7 (College Division)
1971 record10–2 (4–2 Big Sky)
Head coach
Home stadiumBronco Stadium
1971 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Idaho $ 4 –1 –0  8 –3 –0
No. 7 Boise State 4 –2 –0  10 –2 –0
Montana 3 –2 –0  6 –5 –0
Weber State 3 –2 –1  7 –2 –1
Idaho State 2 –3 –0  6 –4 –0
Northern Arizona 1 –3 –0  5 –5 –0
Montana State 0 –5 –1  2 –7 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from College Division AP Poll

Led by fourth-year head coach Tony Knap, the Broncos were 9–2 in the regular season and 4–2 in conference.[1]

Boise State opened the season with a stunning 42–14 upset of Idaho in the first meeting between the two teams,[2] creating an instant rivalry game.[3] This was actually an Idaho "home game" moved to Boise, because their new stadium in Moscow was not completed.[4] A member of the University Division, Idaho had frequently played one home game per season in Boise in the old wooden Bronco Stadium (and its predecessors) from 1920 through 1968; this ended when Boise State joined the Big Sky. Despite the opening loss, Idaho won the conference title in 1971,[5] as the Broncos lost twice on the road.

Knap was named coach of the year in the West for the College Division.[6]

Camellia Bowl

Invited for the first time to the eight-team postseason in the College Division,[7][8] Boise State accepted a bid to play Chico State in the Camellia Bowl in Sacramento, California. The teams last met in the season opener in 1970, the first-ever game in Bronco Stadium.[5][9] Boise State was ranked seventh in the final small college poll, released by the Associated Press in late November.[10]

The game included a wager between the respective governors of the two states, Cecil Andrus of Idaho and Ronald Reagan of California. The bet was for three-day vacations, at either Sun Valley in central Idaho or Disneyland in southern California.[11]

1 2 3 4 Total
Broncos 0 0 7 25 32
Chico State 0 14 14 0 28

Reagan invited the Chico State team to his office the day before the game and encouraged the Wildcats to go out and win for the state of California.[12] Although a neutral site game, Chico State only had to travel 90 miles (145 km) from its campus.

After a scoreless first quarter, Chico State had a 14–0 lead at halftime, and was ahead by three touchdowns after three quarters. Led by quarterback (and placekicker) Eric Guthrie, Boise State outscored the Wildcats 25–0 in the final period to win 32–28.[12][13][14][15][16] This was the extent of the postseason in the College Division; after the final poll in late November, four regional bowls (quarterfinals) were played in mid-December. A full tournament was initiated in 1973 with the introduction of Division II.

It was later revealed that Guthrie had signed a professional baseball contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization five years earlier in 1966. The NCAA had Boise State return the winner's trophy and $18,000, its share of the gate and other receipts.[17][18]

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 118:00 pmvs. Idaho
W 42–1416,123
September 18Cal Poly*
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID [19]
W 18–1412,357
September 25at Nevada*
W 17–105,800
October 27:30 pmat Weber State
L 7–2011,458
October 9No. 6 Montana
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID [23]
W 47–2414,315
October 162:30 pmat Eastern Washington*
W 34–283,400
October 23Central Washington*
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID [26]
W 35–267,211
October 30Montana State
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID
W 52–2411,217
November 6Northern ArizonaNo. 10
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID
W 22–177,982
November 13at Idaho StateNo. 5
L 17–2113,000
November 20College of Idaho*No. 8
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID [27]
W 28–214,278
December 112:30 pmvs. Chico State*No. 7
W 32–2816,313
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll (College Division, top ten only)
  • All times are in Mountain time
  • The opener was a home game for Idaho, but played at Bronco Stadium; their new Idaho Stadium in Moscow opened in October

[28]

NFL Draft

Two Broncos were selected in the 1972 NFL Draft, which lasted seventeen rounds (442 selections).

PlayerPositionRoundOverallFranchise
Steve VogelLinebacker9th209Buffalo Bills
Eric GuthrieQuarterback14th356San Francisco 49ers

References
  1. "Boise State Broncos -- College Football (NCAA)". college-football-results.com. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  2. Bacharach, Sam A. (September 12, 1971). "Broncos kick Vandals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 15.
  3. Payne, Bob (September 12, 1971). "Boise stuns Idaho". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
  4. "Vandals switch home to Boise for opening game against Broncos tonight". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. September 11, 1971. p. 15.
  5. "Boise State accepts bid". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. November 23, 1971. p. 15.
  6. "Boise State's Tony Knap wins grid coaching honor". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. December 3, 1971. p. 16.
  7. "Boise State favored to down Chico State in Camellia Bowl". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. December 11, 1971. p. 13.
  8. "Chico faces Boise State". Lodi News-Sentinel. California. UPI. December 11, 1971. p. 8.
  9. "Camellia Bowl tabs Broncos". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. UPI. November 22, 1971. p. 29.
  10. "AP Football Poll: Small Colleges (final)". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. November 24, 1971. p. 12.
  11. "Reagan accepts wager on Boise-Chico game". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. December 2, 1971. p. 21.
  12. "College bowl game results". Lodi News-Sentinel. California. December 13, 1971. p. 11.
  13. "Boise State uses fourth quarter rally to take Camellia Bowl win". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. December 12, 1971. p. 15.
  14. "Eric Guthrie rallies Boise". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. December 12, 1971. p. 9, sports.
  15. "Football scores: Colleges". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. December 13, 1971. p. 19.
  16. "Bucs 'hurt' Boise State bowl cause". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. November 17, 1972. p. 12.
  17. "Boise out $18,000, trophy for Camellia infraction". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. November 16, 1972. p. 16.
  18. "Bucs 'hurt' Boise State bowl cause". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. November 17, 1972. p. 12.
  19. "BSU stops". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. September 19, 1971. p. 16.
  20. "BSU trims". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. September 26, 1971. p. 18.
  21. Blodgett, Gary R. (September 29, 1971). "Nichols proves running ability". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. p. 3D.
  22. Blodgett, Gary R. (October 4, 1971). "Wildcats reign supreme in Big Sky". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. p. 6B.
  23. "Boise State stops Montana". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. October 10, 1971. p. 2, sports.
  24. Leeson, Fred (October 16, 1971). "Broncos at Eastern". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 12.
  25. Leeson, Fred (October 17, 1971). "Late lightning TD drive catches Savages 34-28". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
  26. Fielder, Dave (October 25, 1971). "Early TDs sink 'Cats". Ellensburg Daily Record. Washington. p. 6.
  27. "Records fall as Broncos defeat College of Idaho". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. November 21, 1971. p. 10, sports.
  28. "Record book (football)" (PDF). Boise State University Athletics. 2016. p. 70.
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