1971 Washington State Cougars football team

The 1971 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Jim Sweeney, they compiled a 4–7 record (2–5 in Pac-8, seventh), and were outscored 286 to 246.[1][2]

1971 Washington State Cougars football
ConferencePacific-8 Conference
1971 record4–7 (2–5 Pac-8)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorSam Jankovich
Captains
  • Brian Lange (DE)
  • Ken Lyday (FB)
  • Steve Busch (G)
Home stadiumJoe Albi Stadium (Spokane)
1971 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 10 Stanford $ 6 –1 –0  9 –3 –0
No. 20 USC 3 –2 –1  6 –4 –1
No. 19 Washington 4 –3 –0  8 –3 –0
California 4 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
Oregon State 3 –3 –0  5 –6 –0
Oregon 2 –4 –0  5 –6 –0
Washington State 2 –5 –0  4 –7 –0
UCLA 1 –4 –1  2 –7 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included junior quarterback Ty Payne with 1,206 passing yards, senior running back Bernard Jackson with 1,189 rushing yards, and wide receiver Ike Nelson with 349 receiving yards.[3][4][5]

The Cougars defeated tenth-ranked Stanford, the defending and future Rose Bowl champions, in Palo Alto on October 23,[6][7][8] but lost their third straight Apple Cup.[9][10] Washington State did not play the Battle of the Palouse in 1971, and neighbor Idaho had their best season to date, winning eight consecutive games.

Due to the fire damage to Rogers Field in Pullman in April 1970,[11] the Cougars played their entire home schedule eighty miles (130 km) north of campus at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane in 1970 and 1971.[12]

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendance
September 1111:30 amat Kansas*
L 0–3437,750
September 181:30 pmArizona*
L 28–3913,500
September 25at Minnesota*
W 31–2032,020
October 212:30 pmat Utah*
W 34–1215,008
October 91:30 pmUCLA
  • Joe Albi Stadium
  • Spokane, WA
L 21–3430,500
October 161:30 pmCalifornia
  • Joe Albi Stadium
  • Spokane, WA
L 23–2412,600
October 231:30 pmat No. 10 Stanford
W 24–2352,250
October 301:30 pmOregon
  • Joe Albi Stadium
  • Spokane, WA
W 31–2125,400
November 61:30 pmat No. 17 USC
L 20–3057,432
November 131:30 pmat Oregon State
L 14–2120,385
November 201:30 pmat Washington
L 20–2860,100
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time
Source:[2][13]

Roster
1971 Washington State Cougars football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 15 Gary Bergan Sr
SE 49 Fritz Brayton So
T 77 Buzz Brazeau Sr
G 66 Steve Busch (C) Sr
TE 80 Bob Engel So
TE 89 Jim Forrest Jr
G 67 Jim Giesa Sr
FB 44 Ken Grandberry So
G 62 Jim Gulledge Sr
FB 35 Steve Hamilton Jr
G 51 Mike Hill So
C 50 John Hook Sr
TB 26 Bernard Jackson Sr
FL 41 Tony Lomax Sr
FB 32 Ken Lyday (C) Sr
G 61 Bill Moos Jr
SE 42 Ike Nelson Jr
QB 14 Ty Paine Jr
TE 81 Mark Painter Sr
SE 47 Bobby Redmond So
SE 46 Don Transeth Jr
T 75 Tom Wickert So
T 76 Wallace Williams Sr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB 63 Crosby Anderson Sr
DT 72 Harold Bradford Sr
DT 71 Greg Craighead So
CB 29 Tyrone Daisy Jr
SS 40 Nile DeCuire Sr
LB 69 Dana Dogterom Sr
FS 11 Chuck Hawthorne Sr
FS 37 Eric Johnson So
DE 85 Mike Johnson Jr
DE 78 Brian Lange (C) Sr
LB 38 Bob Leslie Sr
CB 25 Ron Mims Sr
DT 88 Dennis Mitchell Jr
LB 39 Randy Pickering Sr
LB 58 Tom Poe So
DE 82 Jim Robinson Jr
CB 24 Robin Sinclair So
FS 22 Harry Thompson Sr
LB 67 Clyde Warehime So
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
P 12 Jim Dodd Jr
K 3 Don Sweet Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt
Source:[14][15][16][17][18][19]

All-conference
Main article: 1971 All-Pacific-8 Conference football team

Four Washington State seniors were named to the All-Pacific-8 team: halfback Bernard Jackson, guard Steve Busch, cornerback Ron Mims, and placekicker Don Sweet.[20][21] Busch was a repeat selection.

NFL Draft

Two Cougars were selected in the 1972 NFL Draft

Player Position Round Overall Franchise
Bernard Jackson DB/RB 4 81 Cincinnati Bengals
John Van Reenen DE 14 351 San Diego Chargers
Source:[22]

References
  1. "1971 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  2. "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 76. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  3. "1971 Washington State Cougars Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  4. Missildine, Harry (September 18, 1971). "Cougs have ample reason to exhibit hostility today". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 14.
  5. "Cougar offensive records tumble". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 25, 1971. p. 32.
  6. Missildine, Harry (October 24, 1971). "Cool Cougs earn 'Sweet' victory". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  7. "Wow! Cougars upend Stanford". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 24, 1971. p. 1B.
  8. Strickland, Carter (September 2, 2000). "How Sweet it was to knock off Stanford". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C7.
  9. Missildine, Harry (November 21, 1971). "Washington wins weirdly". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  10. "Huskies stymie Jackson, hand WSU 28-20 loss". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 21, 1971. p. 1B.
  11. "Fast blaze ruins Pullman stadium". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). April 6, 1970. p. 1.
  12. Leeson, Fred (December 19, 1971). "Stadium to proceed". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 6, sports.
  13. College Football @ Sports-Reference.com
  14. Missildine, Harry (September 10, 1971). "Are Cougs improved? KU will find out". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 8.
  15. "Arizona vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 18, 1971. p. 14.
  16. "Bruins vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 9, 1971. p. 12.
  17. "Ducks vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 30, 1971. p. 14.
  18. "WSU vs. Oregon: probable offensive starters". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). October 29, 1971. p. 17.
  19. "2008 Football media guide" (PDF). Washington State University Athletics. 2008. pp. 172–191. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  20. "Four Cougars on All-Stars". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 28, 1971. p. 1, sports.
  21. "Four Ducks on Pac-8 Squad". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). November 28, 1971. p. 1B.
  22. "17th round ends draft". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. February 3, 1972. p. 15.
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