Final NCAA football standings for 1971
| Atlantic Coast Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| North Carolina | 9 | 3 | 0 | 288 | 152 | Lost 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 165 | 57 | Bill Dooley | 
| Clemson | 5 | 6 | 0 | 155 | 202 | Won 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 118 | 102 | Hootie Ingram | 
| South Carolina | 6 | 5 | 0 | 191 | 196 | Lost 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 136 | 78 | Paul Dietzel | 
| Duke | 6 | 5 | 0 | 170 | 149 | Lost 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 104 | 89 | Mike McGee | 
| Wake Forest | 6 | 5 | 0 | 218 | 178 | Lost 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 74 | 83 | Cal Stoll | 
| Virginia | 3 | 8 | 0 | 134 | 272 | Won 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 92 | 163 | Don Lawrence | 
| North Carolina State | 3 | 8 | 0 | 147 | 274 | Won 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 95 | 178 | Al Michaels | 
| Maryland | 2 | 9 | 0 | 224 | 283 | Lost 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 110 | 144 | Roy Lester | 
| Big Ten Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| #6 Michigan | 11 | 1 | 0 | 421 | 83 | Lost 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 269 | 70 | Bo Schembechler | 
| Northwestern | 7 | 4 | 0 | 211 | 183 | Won 3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 192 | 127 | Alex Agase | 
| Ohio State | 6 | 4 | 0 | 224 | 120 | Lost 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 175 | 97 | Woody Hayes | 
| Michigan State | 6 | 5 | 0 | 225 | 169 | Lost 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 192 | 131 | Duffy Daugherty | 
| Illinois | 5 | 6 | 0 | 163 | 238 | Won 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 149 | 131 | Bob Blackman | 
| Wisconsin | 4 | 6 | 1 | 240 | 258 | Lost 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 161 | 200 | John Jardine | 
| Minnesota | 4 | 7 | 0 | 212 | 278 | Won 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 147 | 192 | Murray Warmath | 
| Purdue | 3 | 7 | 0 | 210 | 228 | Lost 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 168 | 182 | Bob DeMoss | 
| Indiana | 3 | 8 | 0 | 152 | 260 | Won 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 126 | 235 | John Pont | 
| Iowa | 1 | 10 | 0 | 121 | 379 | Lost 3 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 88 | 302 | Frank Lauterbur | 
| Big Eight Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| #1 Nebraska | 13 | 0 | 0 | 507 | 104 | Won 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 279 | 68 | Bob Devaney | 
| #2 Oklahoma | 11 | 1 | 0 | 534 | 217 | Won 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 328 | 119 | Chuck Fairbanks | 
| #3 Colorado | 10 | 2 | 0 | 370 | 220 | Won 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 181 | 138 | Eddie Crowder | 
| Iowa State | 8 | 4 | 0 | 337 | 250 | Lost 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 189 | 145 | Johnny Majors | 
| Kansas State | 5 | 6 | 0 | 219 | 296 | Won 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 142 | 248 | Vince Gibson | 
| Oklahoma State | 4 | 6 | 1 | 184 | 322 | Lost 4 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 110 | 254 | Floyd Gass | 
| Kansas | 4 | 7 | 0 | 187 | 286 | Won 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 104 | 218 | Don Fambrough | 
| Missouri | 1 | 10 | 0 | 93 | 260 | Lost 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 57 | 200 | Al Onofrio | 
| Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| Long Beach State | 8 | 4 | 0 | 335 | 231 | Lost 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 152 | 81 | Jim Strangeland | 
| San Jose State | 5 | 6 | 1 | 258 | 289 | Lost 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 165 | 77 | Dewey King | 
| Fresno State | 6 | 5 | 0 | 215 | 165 | Lost 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 104 | 68 | Darryl Rogers | 
| San Diego State | 6 | 5 | 0 | 245 | 230 | Won 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 65 | 104 | Don Coryell | 
| California-Santa Barbara | 3 | 8 | 0 | 162 | 302 | Lost 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 90 | 120 |  | 
| Pacific | 3 | 8 | 0 | 176 | 198 | Won 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 60 | 91 | Homer Smith | 
| Cal State Los Angeles | 2 | 8 | 0 | 90 | 269 | Lost 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 109 |  | 
| Ivy League | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| Cornell | 8 | 1 | 0 | 240 | 136 | Won 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 171 | 99 | Jack Musick | 
| Dartmouth | 8 | 1 | 0 | 207 | 106 | Won 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 148 | 90 | Jake Crouthamel | 
| Columbia | 6 | 3 | 0 | 166 | 136 | Won 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 149 | 117 | Frank Navarro | 
| Harvard | 5 | 4 | 0 | 180 | 167 | Won 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 147 | 139 | Joseph Restic | 
| Princeton | 4 | 5 | 0 | 195 | 160 | Lost 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 142 | 115 | Jake McCandless | 
| Yale | 4 | 5 | 0 | 150 | 156 | Lost 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 106 | 128 | Carmen Cozza | 
| Pennsylvania | 2 | 7 | 0 | 120 | 207 | Lost 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 77 | 176 | Harry Gamble | 
| Brown | 0 | 9 | 0 | 139 | 238 | Lost 9 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 86 | 162 | Len Jardine | 
| Missouri Valley Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| North Texas | 3 | 8 | 0 | 155 | 321 | Lost 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 80 | 86 | Rod Rust | 
| Drake | 7 | 4 | 0 | 267 | 185 | Won 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 56 | Jack Wallace | 
| Memphis | 5 | 6 | 0 | 255 | 202 | Won 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 97 | 34 | Billy Murphy | 
| Tulsa | 4 | 7 | 0 | 173 | 297 | Won 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 43 | Claude Gibson | 
| Louisville | 6 | 3 | 1 | 190 | 111 | Lost 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 88 | 55 | Lee Corso | 
| West Texas A&M | 2 | 9 | 0 | 143 | 281 | Lost 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 72 | 93 | Gene Mayfield | 
| Wichita State | 3 | 8 | 0 | 149 | 268 | Lost 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 42 | 114 | Bob Seaman | 
| Mid-America Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| #14 Toledo | 12 | 0 | 0 | 383 | 96 | Won 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 176 | 71 | John Murphy | 
| Bowling Green State | 6 | 4 | 0 | 263 | 207 | Lost 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 129 | 89 | Don Nehlen | 
| Western Michigan | 7 | 3 | 0 | 228 | 124 | Won 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 95 | 79 | William Doolittle | 
| Miami (Ohio) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 207 | 117 | Won 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 50 | 87 | Bill Mallory | 
| Ohio University | 5 | 5 | 0 | 240 | 173 | Won 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 101 | 100 | Bill Hess | 
| Kent State | 3 | 8 | 0 | 169 | 304 | Lost 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 60 | 185 | Don James | 
| Pac Eight Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| #10 Stanford | 9 | 3 | 0 | 261 | 135 | Won 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 176 | 98 | John Ralston | 
| #20 Southern California | 6 | 4 | 1 | 229 | 164 | Tied 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 119 | 100 | John McKay | 
| #19 Washington | 8 | 3 | 0 | 357 | 188 | Won 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 158 | 106 | Jim Owens | 
| California | 6 | 5 | 0 | 186 | 262 | Lost 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 109 | 156 | Ray Willsey | 
| Oregon State | 5 | 6 | 0 | 268 | 317 | Won 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 150 | 159 | Dee Andros | 
| Oregon | 5 | 6 | 0 | 235 | 286 | Lost 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 128 | 160 | Jerry Frei | 
| Washington State | 4 | 7 | 0 | 246 | 286 | Lost 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 153 | 181 | Jim Sweeney | 
| UCLA | 2 | 7 | 1 | 166 | 243 | Tied 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 103 | 136 | Pepper Rodgers | 
| Southeastern Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| #4 Alabama | 11 | 1 | 0 | 368 | 122 | Lost 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 238 | 45 | Paul "Bear" Bryant | 
| #7 Georgia | 11 | 1 | 0 | 360 | 115 | Won 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 200 | 56 | Vince Dooley | 
| #12 Auburn | 9 | 2 | 0 | 335 | 182 | Lost 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 160 | 94 | Ralph "Shug" Jordan | 
| #9 Tennessee | 10 | 2 | 0 | 270 | 121 | Won 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 94 | 76 | Bill Battle | 
| #15 Mississippi | 10 | 2 | 0 | 363 | 222 | Won 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 147 | 127 | Billy Kinard | 
| #11 Louisiana State | 9 | 3 | 0 | 353 | 153 | Won 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 122 | 61 | Charles McClendon | 
| Vanderbilt | 4 | 6 | 1 | 136 | 208 | Lost 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 70 | 146 | Bill Pace | 
| Florida | 4 | 7 | 0 | 174 | 298 | Won 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 79 | 232 | Doug Dickey | 
| Kentucky | 3 | 8 | 0 | 144 | 284 | Lost 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 84 | 186 | John Ray | 
| Mississippi State | 2 | 9 | 0 | 120 | 311 | Lost 5 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 80 | 251 | Charley Shira | 
| Southern Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| Richmond | 5 | 6 | 0 | 131 | 187 | Lost 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 101 | 60 | Frank Jones | 
| William & Mary | 5 | 6 | 0 | 278 | 241 | Lost 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 134 | 80 | Lou Holtz | 
| Citadel | 8 | 3 | 0 | 366 | 272 | Won 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 181 | 141 | Jimmy "Red" Parker | 
| East Carolina | 4 | 6 | 0 | 181 | 300 | Lost 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 101 | 106 | Sonny Randle | 
| Furman | 5 | 5 | 1 | 201 | 187 | Won 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 101 | 87 | Bob King | 
| Virginia Military | 1 | 10 | 0 | 78 | 257 | Lost 10 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 64 | 75 | Bob Thalman | 
| Davidson | 1 | 9 | 0 | 122 | 289 | Lost 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 63 | 196 | Dave Fagg | 
| Southwestern Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| #18 Texas | 8 | 3 | 0 | 281 | 168 | Lost 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 185 | 73 | Darrell Royal | 
| #16 Arkansas | 8 | 3 | 1 | 356 | 169 | Lost 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 181 | 83 | Frank Broyles | 
| Texas Christian | 6 | 4 | 1 | 214 | 275 | Won 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 118 | 151 | Jim Pittman, Billy Tohill | 
| Texas A&M | 5 | 6 | 0 | 144 | 212 | Lost 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 96 | 117 | Gene Stallings | 
| Southern Methodist | 4 | 7 | 0 | 151 | 227 | Lost 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 111 | 118 | Hayden Fry | 
| Rice | 3 | 7 | 1 | 146 | 220 | Won 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 108 | 124 | Bill Peterson | 
| Texas Tech | 4 | 7 | 0 | 131 | 138 | Lost 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 85 | 94 | Jim Carlen | 
| Baylor | 1 | 9 | 0 | 74 | 236 | Lost 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 49 | 173 | Bill Beall | 
| Western Athletic Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| #8 Arizona State | 11 | 1 | 0 | 462 | 201 | Won 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 288 | 88 | Frank Kush | 
| New Mexico | 6 | 3 | 2 | 341 | 292 | Lost 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 231 | 154 | Rudy Feldman | 
| Arizona | 5 | 6 | 0 | 191 | 232 | Lost 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 86 | 102 | Bob Weber | 
| Brigham Young | 5 | 6 | 0 | 227 | 199 | Lost 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 147 | 127 | Tommy Hudspeth | 
| Wyoming | 5 | 6 | 0 | 222 | 309 | Lost 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 117 | 173 | Fritz Shurmur | 
| Utah | 3 | 8 | 0 | 244 | 315 | Lost 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 170 | 182 | Bill Meek | 
| Colorado State | 3 | 8 | 0 | 177 | 276 | Won 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 60 | 162 | Jerry Wampfler | 
| Texas-El Paso | 5 | 6 | 0 | 166 | 217 | Won 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 55 | 166 | Bobby Dobbs | 
| Major Independents | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| #5 Penn State | 11 | 1 | 0 | 484 | 137 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Joe Paterno | 
| Boston College | 9 | 2 | 0 | 259 | 117 | Won 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Joe Yukica | 
| #13 Notre Dame | 8 | 2 | 0 | 225 | 86 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ara Parseghian | 
| #17 Houston | 9 | 3 | 0 | 339 | 199 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bill Yeoman | 
| Temple | 6 | 2 | 1 | 248 | 136 | Tied 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wayne Hardin | 
| Utah State | 8 | 3 | 0 | 243 | 183 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Chuck Mills | 
| Idaho | 8 | 3 | 0 | 227 | 171 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Don Robbins | 
| Florida State | 8 | 4 | 0 | 309 | 174 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Larry Jones | 
| West Virginia | 7 | 4 | 0 | 280 | 220 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bobby Bowden | 
| Cincinnati | 7 | 4 | 0 | 225 | 188 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ray Callahan | 
| Hawaii | 7 | 4 | 0 | 255 | 225 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dave Holmes | 
| Villanova | 6 | 4 | 1 | 211 | 164 | Tied 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Louis Ferry | 
| Colgate | 6 | 4 | 0 | 287 | 262 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Neil Wheelwright | 
| Air Force | 6 | 4 | 0 | 187 | 187 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ben Martin | 
| Army | 6 | 4 | 0 | 146 | 206 | Won 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tom Cahill | 
| Tampa | 6 | 5 | 0 | 329 | 162 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |  | 
| Southern Mississippi | 6 | 5 | 0 | 202 | 192 | Won 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P.W. "Bear" Underwood | 
| Georgia Tech | 6 | 6 | 0 | 207 | 207 | Lost 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bud Carson | 
| Syracuse | 5 | 5 | 1 | 197 | 179 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ben Schwartzwalder | 
| New Mexico State | 5 | 5 | 1 | 220 | 208 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jim Wood | 
| Northern Illinois | 5 | 5 | 1 | 202 | 232 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jerry Ippoliti | 
| Dayton | 5 | 6 | 0 | 165 | 235 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | John McVay | 
| Holy Cross | 4 | 6 | 0 | 188 | 239 | Lost 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ed Doherty | 
| Virginia Tech | 4 | 7 | 0 | 249 | 272 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Charlie Coffey | 
| Miami (Florida) | 4 | 7 | 0 | 174 | 221 | Lost 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Fran Curci | 
| Rutgers | 4 | 7 | 0 | 193 | 243 | Won 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | John Bateman | 
| Tulane | 3 | 8 | 0 | 152 | 215 | Lost 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bennie Ellender | 
| Pittsburgh | 3 | 8 | 0 | 216 | 388 | Lost 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Carl DePasqua | 
| Navy | 3 | 8 | 0 | 146 | 331 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rick Forzano | 
| Marshall | 2 | 8 | 0 | 57 | 299 | Lost 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jack Lengyel | 
| Tennessee-Chattanooga | 2 | 9 | 0 | 205 | 337 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Harold Wilkes | 
| Texas-Arlington | 2 | 9 | 0 | 94 | 269 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | John Symank | 
| Xavier | 1 | 9 | 0 | 134 | 242 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Richard Selcer |