The 1971 Holy Cross Crusaders football team was an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
team that represented the
College of the Holy Cross
The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...
during the
1971 NCAA University Division football season
The 1971 NCAA University Division football season saw Coach Bob Devaney's Nebraska Cornhuskers repeat as national champions. Ranked a close second behind Notre Dame in the preseason poll, Nebraska moved up to first place the following week, rema ...
.
Ed Doherty took over for his first year as head coach. The team compiled a record of 4–6.
Holy Cross competed as an independent despite having announced in May 1971 that the Crusaders, along with the
Boston University Terriers
The Boston University Terriers are the ten men's and fourteen women's varsity athletic teams representing Boston University in NCAA Division I competition. Boston University's team nickname is the Terriers, and the official mascot is Rhett the ...
, would join the
Yankee Conference
The Yankee Conference was a collegiate sports conference in the eastern United States. From 1947 to 1976, it sponsored competition in many sports, but was a football-only league from mid-1976 until its dissolution in 1996. It is essentially the an ...
. Because their previous scheduling commitments would not allow them to play the full Yankee round-robin in 1971 and 1972, HC and BU continued to compete as football independents and were not eligible for the Yankee Conference championship. Holy Cross did play non-conference games against two longstanding Yankee teams in 1971, losing to both
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
and
.
All home games were played at
Fitton Field
Fitton Field is a football stadium in Worcester, Massachusetts primarily used for College of the Holy Cross sporting events. The stadium opened in 1908 as the official home for the Holy Cross Crusaders football team. Before that, most games were ...
on the Holy Cross campus in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
.
Schedule
Statistical leaders
Statistical leaders for the 1971 Crusaders included:
* Rushing: Joe Wilson, 973 yards and 9 touchdowns on 177 attempts
* Passing: Mickey Connolly, 433 yards, 35 completions and 4 touchdowns on 85 attempts
* Receiving: Jack VonOhlen, 260 yards and 2 touchdowns on 16 receptions
* Scoring: Joe Wilson, 54 points from 9 touchdowns
* Total offense: Joe Wilson, 973 yards (all rushing)
* All-purpose yards: Joe Wilson, 1,128 yards (973 rushing, 114 receiving)
* Interceptions: Dan Harper, 5 interceptions for 93 yards
References
{{Holy Cross Crusaders football navbox
Holy Cross
Holy Cross Crusaders football seasons
Holy Cross Crusaders football
The Holy Cross Crusaders football team is the collegiate American football program of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Patriot League, an NCAA Division I conference that participates in the F ...