1970 Big Ten Conference football season

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1970 Big Ten Conference football season
SportAmerican football
Number of teams10
Top draft pickJohn Brockington
ChampionOhio State
  Runners-upMichigan, Northwestern
Season MVPMike Adamle
Seasons
← 1969
1971 →
1970 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Ohio State $ 7 0 0 9 1 0
No. 9 Michigan 6 1 0 9 1 0
Northwestern 6 1 0 6 4 0
Iowa 3 3 1 3 6 1
Wisconsin 3 4 0 4 5 1
Michigan State 3 4 0 4 6 0
Minnesota 2 4 1 3 6 1
Purdue 2 5 0 4 6 0
Illinois 1 6 0 3 7 0
Indiana 1 6 0 1 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 Big Ten Conference football season was the 75th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1970 NCAA University Division football season.

The 1970 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Woody Hayes, won the Big Ten football championship, was ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll, and led the conference in scoring offense (29.0 points per game). The Buckeyes were undefeated in the regular season but lost to Stanford in the 1971 Rose Bowl. Defensive back Jack Tatum and middle guard Jim Stillwagon were consensus first-team All-Americans. Stillwagon also won the Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman in college football. Running back John Brockington led the conference with 102 points scored, received first-team All-American honors from multiple selectors, and was the first Big Ten player selected in the 1971 NFL Draft with the ninth overall pick. Quarterback Rex Kern finished fifth in the voting for the 1970 Heisman Trophy.

The 1970 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Bo Schembechler, was ranked No. 9 in the final AP Poll and led the conference in scoring defense (9.0 points per game). Michigan's only loss was to Ohio State. Offensive tackle Dan Dierdorf was a consensus first-team All-American. Quarterback Don Moorhead and middle guard Henry Hill were selected as the team's most valuable players.

The 1970 Northwestern Wildcats football team, under head coach Alex Agase, tied with Michigan for second place in the Big Ten and was ranked Running back Mike Adamle of Northwestern led the conference with 1,255 rushing yards and received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the conference's most valuable player.[1]

Season overview[edit]

Results and team statistics[edit]

Conf. Rank Team Head coach AP final AP high Overall record Conf. record PPG PAG MVP
1 Ohio State Woody Hayes #5 #1 9–1 7–0 29.0 12.0 Jim Stillwagon
2 (tie) Michigan Bo Schembechler #9 #4 9–1 6–1 28.8 9.0 Don Moorhead
Henry Hill
2 (tie) Northwestern Alex Agase NR #18 6-4 6-1 23.3 16.1 Mike Adamle
4 Iowa Ray Nagel NR NR 3–6–1 3–3–1 12.9 25.9 Dave Clement
5 (tie) Wisconsin John Jardine NR NR 4–5–1 3–4 19.8 19.5 Chuck Winfrey
5 (tie) Michigan State Duffy Daugherty NR NR 4–6 3–4 19.0 21.5 Eric Allen
7 Minnesota Murray Warmath NR NR 3–6–1 2–4–1 18.0 23.7 Jeff Wright
8 Purdue Bob DeMoss NR NR 4–6 2–5 16.1 18.9 Stan Brown
9 (tie) Illinois Jim Valek NR NR 3–7 1–6 16.5 27.9 Doug Dieken
9 (tie) Indiana John Pont NR NR 1–9 1–6 10.2 30.0 Chris Morris

Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1970 season[2]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1970 season[2]
PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[2]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[2]
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold[3]

Preseason[edit]

Regular season[edit]

Bowl games[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
January 1, 1971 No. 12 Stanford No. 2 Ohio State Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) L 17–27   103,839
#Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Standard Time.

Post-season developments[edit]

Statistical leaders[edit]

Passing yards[edit]

1. Mike Rasmussen, Michigan State (1,344)
2. Craig Curry, Minnesota (1,315)
3. Neil Graff, Wisconsin (1,313)
4. Maurie Daigneau, Northwestern (1,228)
5. Don Moorhead, Michigan (1,167)[2]

Rushing yards[edit]

1. Mike Adamle, Northwestern (1,255)
2. John Brockington, Ohio State (1,142)
3. Otis Armstrong, Purdue (1,009)
4. Billy Taylor, Michigan (911)
5. Levi Mitchell, Iowa (900)[2]

Receiving yards[edit]

1. Larry Mialik, Wisconsin (702)
2. Barry Pearson, Northwestern (552)
3. Doug Dieken, Illinois (537)
4. Paul Staroba, Michigan (519)
5. Gordon Bowdell, Michigan State (495)[2]

Total yards[edit]

1. Craig Curry, Minnesota (1,610)
2. Neil Graff, Wisconsin (1,561)
3. Don Moorhead, Michigan (1,535)
4. Mike Rasmussen, Michigan State (1,358)
5. Mike Adamle, Northwestern (1,255)[2]

Scoring[edit]

1. John Brockington, Ohio State (102)
2. Billy Taylor, Michigan (66)
3. Eric Allen, Michigan State (60)
3. Mike Adamle, Northwestern (60)
5. Fritz Seyferth, Michigan (48)[2]

Awards and honors[edit]

All-Big Ten honors[edit]

The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1970 All-Big Ten Conference football team.

Offense

Position Name Team Selectors
Quarterback Don Moorhead Michigan AP, UPI
Halfback Mike Adamle Northwestern AP, UPI
Fullback John Brockington Ohio State AP, UPI
Tight end Doug Dieken Illinois UPI
Offensive end Paul Staroba Michigan AP, UPI [split end]
Offensive end Larry Mialik Wisconsin AP
Flanker Barry Pearson Northwestern AP
Offensive tackle Dan Dierdorf Michigan AP, UPI
Offensive tackle John Rodman Northwestern AP
Offensive tackle Dave Cheney Ohio State UPI
Offensive guard Mike Sikich Northwestern AP, UPI
Offensive guard Reggie McKenzie Michigan UPI
Offensive guard Phil Strickland Ohio State AP
Center Tom DeLeone Ohio State AP
Center Guy Murdock Michigan UPI [tie]
Center Joe Zigulich Northwestern UPI [tie]

Defense

Position Name Team Selectors
Defensive end Phil Seymour Michigan AP, UPI
Defensive end Bill Gregory Wisconsin AP, UPI [def. tackle]
Defensive end Mark Debevc Ohio State UPI
Defensive tackle Pete Newell Michigan AP, UPI
Middle guard Henry Hill Michigan AP [def. tackle], UPI [tie]
Middle guard Jim Stillwagon Ohio State AP [linebacker], UPI [tie]
Linebacker Chuck Winfrey Wisconsin AP, UPI
Linebacker Bill Light Minnesota AP
Linebacker Marty Huff Michigan UPI
Defensive back Eric Hutchinson Northwestern AP, UPI
Defensive back Mike Sensibaugh Ohio State AP [safety], UPI
Defensive back Jack Tatum Ohio State AP, UPI
Defensive back Jeff Wright Minnesota AP
Defensive back Thom Darden Michigan UPI

All-American honors[edit]

At the end of the 1970 season, Big Ten players secured three of the consensus first-team picks for the 1970 College Football All-America Team.[4] The Big Ten's consensus All-American was:

Position Name Team Selectors
Defensive back Jack Tatum Ohio State AFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, FN, PFW, Time, TSN, WCFF
Offensive tackle Dan Dierdorf Michigan AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, FN, PFW, Time, WCFF
Middle guard Jim Stillwagon Ohio State AFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, FN, WCFF

Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:

Position Name Team Selectors
Running back John Brockington Ohio State CP [fullback], UPI, FN, PFW, Time, TSN
Running back Mike Adamle Northwestern FN
Running back Leo Hayden Ohio State PFW
Tight end Jan White Ohio State NEA, Time, TSN
Middle guard Henry Hill Michigan CP
Linebacker Marty Huff Michigan AFCA
Defensive back Mike Sensibaugh Ohio State CP [safety], UPI
Defensive back Tim Anderson Ohio State Time, TSN

Other awards[edit]

Jim Stillwagon of Ohio State received the Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman in college football.

Two Big Ten players finished in the top 10 in the voting for the 1970 Heisman Trophy. They were: Ohio State quarterback Rex Kern (fifth); and Ohio State defensive back Jack Tatum (seventh).[5]

1971 NFL Draft[edit]

The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1971 NFL Draft:[6]

Name Position Team Round Overall pick
John Brockington Running back Ohio State 1 9
Jack Tatum Safety Ohio State 1 19
William Tim Anderson Cornerback Ohio State 1 23
Leo Hayden Running back Ohio State 1 24
Jan White Tight end Ohio State 2 29
Dan Dierdorf Tackle Michigan 2 43
Paul Staroba Wide receiver Michigan 3 66
Bill Gregory Defensive tackle Wisconsin 3 77

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Wildcats' Adamle Wins the 1970 'Silver Football'". Detroit Free Press. December 26, 1970. p. 2B.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "1970 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  3. ^ Roy Damer. "Adamle Voted Big 10's Most Valuable: Wildcat Star '70 Winner of Silver Football". Chicago Tribune. pp. 3–1, 3–3.
  4. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. pp. 5–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  5. ^ "1970 Heisman Trophy Voting". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  6. ^ "1971 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved January 27, 2017.