The 1971 Northwestern Wildcats team represented Northwestern University during the 1971 Big Ten Conference football season. In their eighth year under head coach Alex Agase, the Wildcats compiled a 7–4 record (6–3 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and finished in second place in the Big Ten Conference. This was Northwestern's last winning season until the miraculous 1995 campaign when the Wildcats won a share of the Big Ten championship and played in the Rose Bowl.