1971 Rice Owls football team

The 1971 Rice Owls football team was an American football team that represented Rice University in the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. In its first and only season under head coach Bill Peterson, the team compiled a 3–7–1 record (2–4–1 against SWC opponents), finished sixth in the conference, and was outscored by a total of 220 to 146.^[1] The team played its home games at Rice Stadium in Houston.

1971 Rice Owls football
Conference	Southwest Conference
Record	3–7–1 (2–4–1 SWC)
Head coach	Bill Peterson (1st season)
Home stadium	Rice 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 team's statistical leaders included Bruce Gadd with 1,061 passing yards, Stahle Vincent with 945 rushing yards, Gary Butler with 397 receiving yards, and Bubba Berg and Stahle Vincent with 18 points each.^[2] Stahle Vincent was selected by the Associated Press as a first-team running back on the 1971 All-Southwest Conference football team.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	Houston*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)	L 21–23	62,000
September 18	No. 17 USC*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	L 0–24	22,000
September 25	Tulane*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 14–11	25,000	^[3]
October 2	at No. 16 LSU*	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	L 3–38	65,976	^[4]
October 16	SMU	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)	L 10–16	25,000
October 23	at No. 16 Texas	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)	L 10–39	61,000
October 30	at Texas Tech	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX	W 9–7	38,340
November 6	No. 16 Arkansas	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	T 24–24
November 13	Texas A&M	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	L 13–18	47,000
November 20	at TCU	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	L 19–20
November 27	Baylor	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 23–0	15,000	^[5]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "1971 Rice Owls Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
2. "1971 Rice Owls Statistics". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
3. "Rice trims Tulane 14–11 for Petersen's first win". The Victoria Advocate. September 26, 1971. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Tigers pick Owls, 38–3". The Odessa American. October 3, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Rice Blanks Bears, 23-0". The Marshall News Messenger. November 28, 1971. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.