1971 San Diego State Aztecs football team

The 1971 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State College^{[note 1]} during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA).^{[note 2]}

1971 San Diego State Aztecs football
Conference	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Record	6–5 (2–3 PCAA)
Head coach	Don Coryell (11th season)
Offensive coordinator	Rod Dowhower (4th season)
Home stadium	San Diego Stadium
Seasons ← 1970 1972 →

1971 Pacific Coast Athletic Association football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Long Beach State $	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
San Jose State	4	–	1	–	0			5	–	6	–	1
Fresno State	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
San Diego State	2	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
UC Santa Barbara	2	–	3	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Pacific (CA)	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Cal State Los Angeles	0	–	3	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The Aztecs were led by head coach Don Coryell, in his eleventh year, and played home games at San Diego Stadium^{[note 3]} in San Diego, California. They finished the season with a record of six wins and five losses (6–5, 2–3 PCAA).

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 25		at Southern Miss*	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS	L 0–10	11,157	[1]
October 2	7:30 p.m.	Northern Illinois*	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 30–10	26,043	[2]
October 9	8:03 p.m.	Pacific (CA)	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 14–7	39,464	[3]
October 16		at UC Santa Barbara	Campus Stadium Santa Barbara, CA	W 27–23	5,500	[4]
October 22		Utah State*	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 36–20	25,047	[5]
October 30		at Fresno State	Ratcliffe Stadium Fresno, CA (rivalry)	L 10–17	11,140	[6][7]
November 6		at San Jose State	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	L 7–45	16,394	[8]
November 13		Long Beach State	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	L 7–12	28,468	[9]
November 20		Arizona*	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 39–10	21,681	[10]
November 27		Iowa State*	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	L 31–48	25,490	[11]
December 4	7:30 p.m.	North Texas State*	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 44–28	16,278	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Pacific time

^[13][14]

Team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the 1972 NFL draft.^[15]

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL team
Willie Buchanon	Defensive back	1	7	Green Bay Packers
Tom Reynolds	Wide receiver	2	49	New England Patriots
Martin Imhof	Defensive end – Defensive tackle	4	84	St. Louis Cardinals
Robert West	Wide receiver	4	90	Dallas Cowboys
Bruce Ward	Guard	6	141	San Diego Chargers
Brian Sipe	Quarterback	13	330	Cleveland Browns
Marv Owens	Wide receiver	14	361	Minnesota Vikings

Team awards

Award	Player
Most Valuable Player (John Simcox Memorial Trophy)	Tom Reynolds
Outstanding Offensive & Defensive Linemen (Byron H. Chase Memorial Trophy)	Steve Henson, Off Ty Youngs, Def
Team captains Dr. R. Hardy / C.E. Peterson Memorial Trophy	Brian Sipe, Off Willie Buchanon, Def
Most Inspirational Player	Ty Youngs

^[14]

Notes

1. San Diego State University was known as San Diego State College from 1935 to 1971.
2. The Big West Conference was known as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association from its founding in 1969 through 1987.
3. San Diego County Credit Union Stadium (SDCCU Stadium) was known as San Diego Stadium from its opening in 1967 through 1980.