The 1971 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1971 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 6–4 record. The Buckeyes entered the season knowing it could not go to a bowl game, due to the Big Ten's "no repeat" rule, prohibiting conference schools from appearing in the Rose Bowl in consecutive seasons, plus the rule banning schools from playing in any bowl other than the Rose Bowl. The no-repeat rule was rescinded December 9 and went into effect for 1972; the prohibition on playing in bowls other than the Rose was not repealed until 1975.