1971 Boston College Eagles football team

1971 Boston College Eagles football
1971 Boston College Eagles football
Conference	Independent
Record	9–2
Head coach	Joe Yukica (4th season);
Defensive coordinator	John Petercuskie (3rd season)
Captain	Kevin Clemente, Ray Rippman
Home stadium	Alumni Stadium
	Seasons ← 1970 1972 →

The 1971Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College as an independent during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Joe Yukica, the Eagles compiled a record of 9–2, but were not invited to a bowl game. They were passed up for a spot in the Peach Bowl in favor of four-loss Georgia Tech, partly due to the Eagles' reputation of having a slow, defense-heavy style of play.^[2] Boston College played home games at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	L 14–45	31,500	^[3]
September 18	at Temple	Temple Stadium Philadelphia, PA	W 17–3	13,000	^[4]
September 25	Navy	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 49–6	22,700
October 2	at Richmond	City Stadium Richmond, VA	W 24–0	6,500	^[5]
October 9	Villanova	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 23–7	20,616
October 16	at Texas Tech	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX	L 6–14	32,480
October 23	Pittsburgh	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 40–22	26,854
November 6	at Syracuse	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	W 10–3	21,978
November 13	Northern Illinois	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 20–10	16,238
November 20	UMass	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (rivalry)	W 35–0	25,311
November 27	vs. Holy Cross	Schaefer Stadium Foxborough, MA (rivalry)	W 21–7	22,205	^[6]

The game against rival Holy Cross was moved at the last minute to the newly constructed Schaefer Stadium (home of the New England Patriots until 2001) due to a heavy snowstorm making conditions unplayable at Fitton Field in Worcester.^[8]

^ ^a ^b 2016 Boston College football media guide. p. 183.
^ Nelson, Jerry (November 27, 1971). "Bowls Spurn Lackluster BC". Boston Globe. p. 17.
^ "West Virginia defeats BC". The Times and Democrat. September 12, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Boston College Spoils Temple Opener, Wins 17-3". The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 19, 1971 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Rippman rips Spiders for Eagles". The Charlotte Observer. October 3, 1971. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Nason, Jerry (November 28, 1971). "BC's Bombs Trip Up 'Soft Touch' HC, 21-7". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 85 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1971 Boston College Eagles Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
^ Concannon, Joe (November 27, 1971). "Phone call switches BC-HC site to Schaefer". Boston Globe. p. 17.