The 1971 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 77th overall and 38th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Bear Bryant, in his 14th year, and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished season with eleven wins and one loss (11–1 overall, 7–0 in the SEC), as SEC champions and with a loss to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.
The 1971 squad was notable for a pair of firsts in Alabama football history. This was the first team that African Americans contributed as members of the Alabama varsity squad, with John Mitchell being the first to actually see playing time. 1971 also marked the first season the Crimson Tide utilized the wishbone offense that Alabama became noted for throughout the remainder of Bryant's tenure as head coach at Alabama.
Alabama opened the season with an upset victory at USC. This was the first game that the wishbone was utilized by the Crimson Tide offense, and their victory was attributed in part to surprising the Trojans with its introduction. They then won their next four games over , Florida, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt and set up a top 20 match-up against Tennessee. In their rival game, the Crimson Tide ended a four-game losing streak to the Vols with their 32–15 victory. After a hard-fought win over Houston and victory over Mississippi State at Jackson, Alabama defeated LSU for their third win over a ranked team on the season.
The Crimson Tide next defeated Miami on homecoming and set up a match-up between undefeated teams for the first time in the history of the Iron Bowl to close the regular season. With both teams ranked in the top five, Alabama defeated Auburn 31–7 and captured the outright SEC football championship. However, they were unable to capture a national championship as they were defeated by No. 1 Nebraska 38–6 to close the season in the Orange Bowl.
Schedule
Integration Although several African American students competed during spring practice in 1967, Wilbur Jackson became the first African American awarded a scholarship to play for Alabama, and he competed as a member of the freshman squad in 1970 and played for the varsity team in 1971. For the 1971 season, John Mitchell became the first African American to play on the varsity squad for the Crimson Tide during the regular season after he transferred from Eastern Arizona College.
While the Crimson Tide finally fielded Black Players, they lost the National Championship to a well Integrated Nebraska team. Nebraska's best players who made the difference in the blowout victory were African Americans including Outland Trophy Winner Rich Glover, future Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers and bowl game MVP Willie Harper amongst others. Nebraska's victory played a part in causing the SEC as a whole to integrate their teams and that integration would help Alabama reinvigorate their team creating a new dynasty winning National Championships in the years to come.
Wishbone offense In 1968, Texas head coach Darrell Royal and his offensive coordinator Emory Bellard introduced what would become known as the wishbone offense. The wishbone was derived from the Split-T offense run at Oklahoma under Bud Wilkinson. In the formation, the quarterback lines up with a fullback and two tailbacks behind him, and on any play may keep the ball, hand off to the fullback, or pitch to a tailback. From the time Bryant arrived at Alabama through the 1970 season, the Crimson Tide ran a pro-style offense. By 1969, Bryant began to recruit larger linemen and tailbacks, and after a pair of six win seasons in 1969 and 1970, Bryant saw the success of the wishbone for the Longhorns and decided to implement the offense for the 1971 season. In spring 1971, Alabama assistants Mal Moore and Jimmy Sharpe traveled to Austin where they saw first hand how the wishbone operated during Texas' final week of spring practice.
During the second summer session at the University, both Moore and Sharpe began to work with players on the offensive change, and in August Royal and Bellard traveled to Tuscaloosa and led a coaching clinic for the Alabama staff on the wishbone. In order to keep the change a secret, Bryant closed all of the Crimson Tide's practices closed from the public, screened the practice field from view with a canvas and hired security to keep people away. The change to the wishbone was kept under such secrecy that when the media would visit practice, Bryant had the team practice the pro-style system that was phased out. Alabama later opened the season with an upset victory over USC that was credited to the surprise switch to the wishbone that caught the Trojans off-guard.
Game summaries USC
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After the NCAA enacted a rule that allowed its member institutions to schedule an eleventh regular season game, in January 1970 the Crimson Tide agreed to a home-and-home series with the University of Southern California (USC). At the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Alabama upset the No. 5 Trojans 17–10 on a Friday night to open the 1971 season.1971 Season Recap The Crimson Tide took a 10–0 lead in the first quarter behind a 13-yard Johnny Musso touchdown run and a 37-yard Bill Davis field goal. They extended it further to 17–0 early in the second quarter on an eight-yard Musso touchdown run.
USC responds with ten unanswered points and made the halftime score 17–10. They scored first on a seven-yard Charles Young touchdown run and next on a 37-yard Mike Rae field goal. Neither team scored in the second half as both defenses created several turnovers and Alabama won 17–10. The victory was also the 200th career win for Alabama head coach Bear Bryant.
Southern Miss
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After their victory over USC, Alabama moved into the No. 9 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Southern Miss. In their home opener, Alabama played 62 different players and defeated the Southerners 42–6 at Denny Stadium. Johnny Musso gave the Crimson Tide a 14–0 lead with touchdown runs of one-yard in the first and 16-yards in the second quarter. Ellis Beck then extended their lead to 21–0 with his one-yard touchdown run prior to halftime.
The Crimson Tide extended their lead further to 35–0 with third quarter touchdowns scored on a four-yard Joe LaBue run and a 25-yard Benny Rippetoe pass to William Wood. Southern Miss ended the shutout attempt with a nine-yard Doyle Orange touchdown run in the fourth, and Alabama closed with an 18-yard Steve Bisceglia touchdown run that made the final score 42–6.
Florida
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After their victory over Southern Miss, Alabama moved into the No. 8 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Florida. Against the Gators, Johnny Musso scored four rushing touchdowns en route to a 38–0 shutout at Florida Field. After Bill Davis gave the Crimson Tide a 3–0 lead with his first quarter field goal, Musso scored Alabama's next four touchdowns and extended their lead to 31–0. All four came on the ground with a pair from one-yard out, a three-yard run and a five-yard run. Alabama then closed the game with an 11-yard Billy Sexton touchdown pass to Dexter Wood that made the final score 38–0.
The four touchdowns scored by Musso on the ground set a new school record for rushing touchdowns. Additionally, the shutout was the first for the Crimson Tide defense since their 17–0 victory in 1967 over South Carolina.
Ole Miss
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After their victory over Florida, Alabama moved into the No. 7 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Ole Miss. Looking to avenge the 48–23 loss from the previous season, the Crimson Tide defeated the Rebels 40–6 at Legion Field. After Bill Davis gave the Crimson Tide a 6–0 with field goals of 25 and 42-yards, Ole Miss tied the game 6–6 with what was their only points of the game. The score came on a 48-yard Kenneth Lyons touchdown pass to Elmer Allen in the second quarter. Alabama responded with an 11-yard Terry Davis touchdown pass to David Bailey that made the halftime score 13–6.
Alabama extended their lead to 27–6 in the third quarter behind touchdown runs of 29-yards by Joe LaBue and seven-yards by Johnny Musso. The Crimson Tide then closed the game with touchdown runs of 15-yards by Steve Bisceglia and 14-yards by Butch Hobson that made the final score 40–6. The 531 rushing yards made by Alabama were the most allowed by the Rebels' defense in school history.
Vanderbilt
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After their victory over Ole Miss, Alabama moved into the No. 6 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Vanderbilt. Against the Commodores, the Alabama defense forced their second shutout of the season win this 42–0 victory at Dudley Field. Johnny Musso gave the Crimson Tide a 7–0 lead with his 17-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Their lead was then stretched to 13–0 at halftime behind field goals of 33-yards by Bill Davis and 26-yards by Greg Gantt.
Alabama closed the game with a pair of touchdowns in each of the final two quarters and won 42–0. Ellis Beck scored on a one-yard run and Terry Davis threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Jim Simmons in the third quarter. In the fourth, Bob McKinney scored on a 55-yard punt return and Johnny Sharpless scored on an 11-yard touchdown run.
Tennessee
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After their victory at Vanderbilt, Alabama moved into the No. 4 position and Tennessee into the No. 14 position in the AP Poll prior to their game at Legion Field. Against the Volunteers, Alabama ended a four-game losing streak that dated back to their 1967 season with this 32–15 in their annual rivalry game. After the Crimson Tide took an early 6–0 lead on a 20-yard Terry Davis touchdown pass to David Bailey, the Vols responded with a four-yard Curt Watson touchdown run that made the score 7–6 at the end of the first quarter. Alabama then took a 15–6 halftime lead after a 27-yard Bill Davis field goal and six-yard Terry Davis touchdown run in the second quarter.
Early in the third, the Crimson Tide extended their lead to 22–7 behind a 16-yard Terry Davis touchdown pass to Bailey. Tennessee responded in the fourth with a nine-yard Watson touchdown run that cut the Alabama lead to 22–15. However, the Crimson Tide closed the game with a 39-yard Bill Davis field goal and five-yard Johnny Musso touchdown run for the 32–15 victory. The 73,828 in attendance set a new record for largest crowd in the history of Legion Field to date.
Houston
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With their over the Vols, Alabama retained their No. 4 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Houston. Although the Cougars outgained the Crimson Tide by over 100 total yards, Alabama won 34–20 at Denny Stadium. Alabama took a 7–0 first quarter lead on a two-yard Johnny Musso touchdown run, but Houston then scored on a three-yard Tom Mozisek touchdown run that tied the game 7–7 early in the second. The Crimson Tide responded with a pair of Terry Davis touchdown passes to David Bailey from 10 and 25-yards that gave Alabama a 20–7 halftime lead.
Both teams then traded touchdowns in the second half en route to the 34–20 Crimson Tide victory. In the third quarter, Musso scored for Alabama first with his nine-yard run and Houston followed with a three-yard Gary Mullins touchdown pass to Riley Odoms; in the fourth Joe LaBue scored for the Crimson tide on a 10-yard run and Mullins threw a second, three-yard pass to Odoms that made the final score 34–20. In the game, Musso had 132 yards rushing for Alabama and both Robert Newhouse and Tom Mozisek each had over 100 yards rushing for Houston with 182 and 105 respectively.
Mississippi State
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