The 1951 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos football team represented Santa Barbara College[note 1] during the 1951 college football season.
Santa Barbara competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).
The team was led by third-year head coach Roy Engle and played home games at La Playa Stadium in Santa Barbara, California.
They finished the season with a record of five wins and four losses (5–4, 1–3 CCAA).