1971 Chico State Wildcats football team

The 1971 Chico State Wildcats football team represented Chico State College—now known as California State University, Chico—as a member of the Far Western Conference (FWC) during the 1971 NCAA College Division football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Pete Riehlman, Chico State compiled an overall record of 9–2 with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, sharing the FWC title with UC Davis. At the end of the regular season, the Aggies were invited to play in the Camellia Bowl, where they lost to Boise State, 32–28. This was the only postseason bowl game in the history of the Chico State Wildcats football program. The team outscored its opponents 394 to 164 for the season. The Wildcats played home games at College Field in Chico, California. This was the last year the stadium was named College Field. With the school's change to University status in 1972, the stadium was renamed "University Stadium".

1971 Chico State Wildcats football
FWC co-champion
Camellia Bowl, L 28–32 vs. Boise State
Conference	Far Western Conference
Record	9–2 (5–1 FWC)
Head coach	Pete Riehlman (4th season)
Home stadium	College Field
Seasons ← 1970 1972 →

1971 Far Western Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 11 UPI Chico State +	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
UC Davis +	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
Cal State Hayward	3	–	2	–	1			7	–	2	–	1
Humboldt State	3	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Sacramento State	2	–	3	–	1			4	–	5	–	1
San Francisco State	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Sonoma State	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from College Division poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18	Southern Oregon*	College Field Chico, CA	W 31–9
September 25	at Redlands*	Redlands Stadium Redlands, CA	W 31–0
October 2	at United States International*	Balboa Stadium? San Diego, CA	W 27–26
October 9	at Cal State Hayward	Pioneer Stadium Hayward, CA	L 20–28	6,000	^[1]
October 16	Sacramento State	College Field Chico, CA	W 37–7	7,200	^[2]
October 23	Humboldt State	College Field Chico, CA	W 34–14
October 30	at UC Davis	Toomey Field Davis, CA	W 38–20	7,000	^[3]
November 6	San Francisco State	College Field Chico, CA	W 54–7	10,000	^[4]
November 13	San Francisco*	College Field Chico, CA	W 41–7
November 20	at Sonoma State	Cossacks Stadium^[note 1] Rohnert Park, CA	W 53–14
December 11	at Boise State*	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA (Camellia Bowl)	L 28–32	16,313	^[5]^[6]
*Non-conference game

^[7][8]

Team players in the NFL

The following Chico State players were selected in the 1972 NFL Draft.^[9][10][11]

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL team
Jewell McCullar	Linebacker	15	382	Cleveland Browns

Notes

1. Cossacks Stadium was renamed in 2002 to Seawolf Stadium when the University changed the name of the mascot to Seawolves.

References

1. "Final 1971 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
2. "Final 1971 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
3. "Final 1971 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
4. "Final 1971 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
5. "Eric Guthrie rallies Boise". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. December 12, 1971. p. 9, sports.
6. "2015 Boise State Football Media Guide". Boise State University Athletics. 2015. p. 157. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
7. "Final 1971 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
8. . Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
9. "1972 NFL Draft". Retrieved October 28, 2017.
10. "Cal State-Chico Players/Alumni". Retrieved October 28, 2017.
11. "Draft History: Chico State". Retrieved October 28, 2017.