BOULDER — When the Big Eight claimed the top three spots in the final Associated Press football poll following the 1971 season — Nebraska, Oklahoma and Colorado — it was the first time in history that one conference had nailed down a 1-2-3 finish.
While the event was no doubt significant at the time, that significance has only grown. It is still the only season in history in which one conference finished 1-2-3 in the final AP poll.
Simply, the Big Eight — a conference that no longer exists — did what the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Pac-12 and Big 12 have never matched, before or since.