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1971 Arkansas Razorbacks football
1971 Arkansas Razorbacks football
Liberty Bowl, L 14–13 vs. Tennessee
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
AP	No. 16
Record	8–3–1 (5–1–1 SWC)
Head coach	Frank Broyles (13th season);
Offensive coordinator	Don Breaux (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Captain	David Hogue, Ronnie Jones, Mike Kelson, Kay Maybry, Bobby Nichols
Home stadium	Razorback Stadium; War Memorial Stadium
	Seasons ← 1970 1972 →

1971 Southwest Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 18 Texas $	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
No. 16 Arkansas	5	–	1	–	1	8	–	3	–	1
TCU	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	1
Texas A&M	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
SMU	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Rice	2	–	4	–	1	3	–	7	–	1
Texas Tech	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Baylor	0	–	7	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas in the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. In their 14th year under head coach Frank Broyles, the Razorbacks compiled an 8–3–1 record (5–1–1 against SWC opponents), finished in second place behind Texas in the SWC, and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 356 to 169.^[1]^[2] The team finished the season ranked #16 in the final AP Poll and #20 in the final UPI Coaches Poll and went on to lose the 1971 Liberty Bowl to Tennessee by a 14–13 score.

The Razorbacks assumed the driver's seat for their first trip to the Cotton Bowl Classic since 1965 following a 31–7 rout of archrival Texas in Little Rock, but followed that by losing at home to Texas A&M and tying lowly Rice on the road, allowing the Longhorns to regain the Southwest Conference lead and go on to their fourth consecutive conference championship.

Kicker Bill McClard was an All American. McClard also averaged 6.5 points per game, the seventh best average nationally. Razorback quarterback Joe Ferguson was eighth in the nation in completions per game, with 14.5. Mike Reppond averaged 5.6 receptions per game, the fourth highest average during 1971. As an offense, Arkansas averaged 211.5 yards per game, the highest in the SWC, and eighth-highest in college football. Arkansas was seventh in total offense, with a total of 4898 yards over 11 games.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	California*	No. 7	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR		W 51–20	54,176
September 18	Oklahoma State*	No. 6	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR		W 31–10	54,176
September 25	Tulsa*	No. 7	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR		L 20–21	41,742
October 2	TCU	No. 18	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR		W 49–15	41,100
October 9	at Baylor	No. 17	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX		W 35–7	33,000
October 16	No. 10 Texas	No. 16	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR (rivalry)	ABC	W 31–7	54,446
October 23	North Texas State*	No. 9	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR		W 60–21	38,135	^[3]
October 30	Texas A&M	No. 8	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR (rivalry)		L 9–17	54,446
November 6	at Rice	No. 16	Rice Stadium Houston, TX		T 24–24	32,000
November 13	at SMU	No. 17	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	ABC	W 18–13	30,773
November 25	Texas Tech	No. 17	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR (rivalry)		W 15–0	43,000
December 20	No. 9 Tennessee*	No. 18	Memphis Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	ABC	L 13–14	51,410	^[4]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1971 Arkansas Razorbacks football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`11`	Joe Ferguson	Jr
OT	`78`	Mike Kelson	Sr
WR	`26`	Mike Reppond	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DT	`63`	Roger Harnish	Sr
DE	`89`	Dave Reavis	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`19`	Bill McClard	Sr

Head coach

Frank Broyles

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Liberty Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
#18 Razorbacks	0	7	0	6	13
#9 Volunteers	7	0	0	7	14

The 1971 Liberty Bowl matched up Arkansas with Tennessee. The Volunteers took the lead first, with a two-yard run by Bill Rudder. The Hogs responded with a 36-yard TD strike from Joe Ferguson to Jim Hodge. Scoring wouldn't resume until the fourth quarter, when Razorback Bill McClard kicked 19- and 30-yard field goals. A third McClard kick was good, set up by Louis Campbell's third interception, but a penalty kept the Hogs off the board a fourth time. Arkansas fumbled at their own 36-yard line, and Tennessee's Curt Watson scored three plays later.

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	ARK	UT
1	6:39		55		UT	Bill Rudder 2-yard touchdown run, George Hunt kick good	0	7
2	4:11		66		ARK	Jim Hodge 36-yard touchdown reception from Joe Ferguson, Bill McClard kick good	7	7
4	13:14		52		ARK	19-yard field goal by Bill McClard	10	7
4	8:51		30		ARK	30-yard field goal by Bill McClard	13	7
4	1:56		37		UT	Curt Watson 17-yard touchdown run, George Hunt kick good	13	14
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							13	14

Source: Razorback Bowl History – 1971 Liberty Bowl

References

^ "Arkansas Yearly Results (1970-1974)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
^ "1971 Arkansas Razorbacks Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
^ "Hogs blast Eagles 60–21". Casper Star-Tribune. October 24, 1971. Retrieved October 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Vols take Liberty". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 21, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.