1971 Big Ten Conference football season
Position Name Team Selectors
Tight end Doug Kingsriter Minnesota AP
Center Tom DeLeone Ohio State NEA , UPI , FN , Time , TSN
Running back Eric Allen Michigan State AFCA
Running back Billy Taylor Michigan FN
Middle guard Ron Curl Michigan State AFCA
Defensive back Brad Van Pelt Michigan State UPI , FN
Defensive back Thom Darden Michigan AFCA , TSN
Defensive back Eric Hutchinson Northwestern FWAA
Defensive back Craig Clemons Iowa NEA , TSN )
Awards and honors -- All-American honors
For the complete All-America selections , see 1971 College Football All-America Team . At the end of the 1971 season , Big Ten players secured two of the consensus first-team picks for the 1971 College Football All-America Team . [ 32 ] The Big Ten 's consensus All-Americans were : Position Name Team Selectors Linebacker Mike Taylor Michigan AFCA , AP , FWAA , NEA , UPI , FN , Time , TSN , WCFF Offensive guard Reggie McKenzie Michigan AP , FWAA , NEA , UPI , FN , Time , TSN , WCFF Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were :
The 1971 Big Ten Conference football season was the 76th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. This was the first season in which Big Ten teams were permitted to schedule 11 games, one season after most schools first did so. Ohio State increased its schedule from nine games to 10, but did not play 11 until 1974, while Purdue first scheduled an 11th game in 1972. The 1971 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Bo Schembechler, compiled an 11-0 record in the regular season but lost to Stanford, 13-12, on a field goal with 12 seconds remaining in the 1972 Rose Bowl. The Wolverines led the Big Ten in both scoring offense (35.1 points per game) and scoring defense (6.9 points allowed per game). The team was ranked No. 4 in the final Coaches Poll and No. 6 in the final AP Poll. Linebacker Mike Taylor and offensive guard Reggie McKenzie were consensus first-team All-Americans. Running back Billy Taylor rushed for 1,297 yards, was named as the team most valuable player, and was selected as a first-team All-American by the Football News. Defensive back Thom Darden was selected as a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association and The Sporting News. The 1971 Northwestern Wildcats football team, under head coach Alex Agase, compiled a 7-4 record and finished in second place in the Big Ten.