The Penn State Nittany Lions were 10-1 in 1971. They emerged victorious over the Texas Longhorns, 30 to 6, in the Cotton Bowl.
| GP | PTS | YDS | PLY | AVG | RUSH YDS | RUSH ATT | RUSH AVG | PASS YDS | PASS ATT | PASS AVG | SCK | SCKY | 1DWN | RUSH 1DWN | PASS 1DWN | PEN 1DWN | PEN | PEN YDS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | 11 | 454 | 5,211 | 798 | 6.5 | 3,563 | 619 | 5.8 | 1,648 | 179 | 9.2 | ||||||||
Team Rank | 3rd | 3rd | 37th | 2nd | 5th | 14th | 2nd | 39th | 98th | 2nd | |||||||||
Opponent | 11 | 131 | 3,133 | 4.1 | 1,601 | 483 | 3.3 | 1,532 | 282 | 5.4 | |||||||||
Opponent Rank | 68th | 45th | 35th | 30th | 29th | 35th | 88th | 111th | 27th | ||||||||||
Net | +323 | +2,078 | +798 | +2.4 | +1,962 | +136 | +2.4 | +116 | -103 | +3.8 | |||||||||
Net Rank | 3rd | 5th | 37th | 2nd | 6th | 16th | 4th | 45th | 112th | 2nd |
| Big 10 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| 2 | 11 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Independent | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 2 | .818 | |
| 2 | 9 | 3 | .750 |
| Pac-12 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 9 | .182 | |
| 2 | 5 | 6 | .455 |
| Mountain West | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 2 | .818 | |
| 2 | 7 | 4 | .636 |
| Big 12 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 1 | .909 | |
| 2 | 10 | 1 | .909 |
| American Athletic | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 2 | .818 | |
| 2 | 10 | 1 | .909 |
| Mid-American | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 4 | .667 | |
| 2 | 7 | 4 | .636 |
| Conference USA | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 4 | .636 | |
| 2 | 8 | 3 | .727 |
| Sun Belt | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 1 | .909 | |
| 2 | 8 | 3 | .727 |