1971 Holy Cross Crusaders football team

The 1971 Holy Cross Crusaders football team was an American football team that represented the College of the Holy Cross during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Ed Doherty took over for his first year as head coach. The team compiled a record of 4–6.[1]

1971 Holy Cross Crusaders football
ConferenceIndependent
1971 record4–6
Head coach
Captains
  • William Adams
  • Daniel Harper
  • William Stachowski
Home stadiumFitton Field
1971 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf  Overall
TeamW 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
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

Holy Cross competed as an independent despite having announced in May 1971 that the Crusaders, along with the Boston University Terriers, would join the Yankee Conference. Because their previous scheduling commitments would not allow them to play the full Yankee round-robin in 1971 and 1972, HC and BU continued to compete as football independents and were not eligible for the Yankee Conference championship.[2] Holy Cross did play non-conference games against two longstanding Yankee teams in 1971, losing to both Connecticut and Massachusetts.

All home games were played at Fitton Field on the Holy Cross campus in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 25 at Harvard
W 21–16 14,000 [3]
October 2 at Dartmouth
L 9–28 13,750 [4]
October 9 Colgate
  • Fitton Field
  • Worcester, MA
W 28–14 15,000 [5]
October 16 Boston University
  • Fitton Field
  • Worcester, MA
W 28–14 17,500 [6]
October 23 at Syracuse
L 21–63 18,308 [7]
October 30 Northeastern ^
  • Fitton Field
  • Worcester, MA
W 17–7 14,000 [8]
November 6 at Massachusetts
L 27–38 14,500 [9]
November 13 at Rutgers
L 13–14 [10]
November 20 at Connecticut
L 17–24 14,397 [11]
November 27 vs. Boston College
L 12–48 22,205 [12]
  • Homecoming
  • ^ Family Weekend

Statistical leaders

Statistical leaders for the 1971 Crusaders included:[13]

  • Rushing: Joe Wilson, 973 yards and 9 touchdowns on 177 attempts
  • Passing: Mickey Connolly, 433 yards, 35 completions and 4 touchdowns on 85 attempts
  • Receiving: Jack VonOhlen, 260 yards and 2 touchdowns on 16 receptions
  • Scoring: Joe Wilson, 54 points from 9 touchdowns
  • Total offense: Joe Wilson, 973 yards (all rushing)
  • All-purpose yards: Joe Wilson, 1,128 yards (973 rushing, 114 receiving)
  • Interceptions: Dan Harper, 5 interceptions for 93 yards

References
  1. "2019 Holy Cross Football Fact Book" (PDF). Worcester, Mass.: College of the Holy Cross. p. 123. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  2. "Boston U., Holy Cross Join Yankee Conference". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. United Press International. May 26, 1971. p. 35 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Cady, Steve (September 26, 1971). "Holy Cross Ends Slump in 21-16 Harvard Upset". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S5.
  4. McGowen, Deane (October 3, 1971). "Dartmouth Downs Holy Cross, 28-9, by Capitalizing on Fumble Recoveries". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S4.
  5. "Holy Cross Tops Colgate by 28-14". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. United Press International. October 10, 1971. p. S6.
  6. "Holy Cross Wins, 28-14". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. Associated Press. October 17, 1971. p. S5.
  7. "Syracuse Amasses Most Points Since 1959 in Trouncing Holy Cross, 63-21". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. Associated Press. October 24, 1971. p. S5.
  8. "Holy Cross Defeats Northeastern, 17-7". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. Associated Press. October 31, 1971. p. S4.
  9. "Holy Cross Upset by UMass, 38 to 27". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. Associated Press. November 7, 1971. p. S29.
  10. "Rutgers Defeats Holy Cross, 14-13". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. November 14, 1971. p. S5.
  11. "UConn Wins, 24-17, from Holy Cross". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. Associated Press. November 21, 1971. p. S7.
  12. "Long Passes Help Boston College Top Holy Cross, 21-7". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. Associated Press. November 28, 1971. p. S5.
  13. "2019 Holy Cross Football Fact Book" (PDF). Worcester, Mass.: College of the Holy Cross. pp. 68–73. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
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