1970 Big Ten Conference football season

August 2023 1970 Big Ten Conference football season American football 10 John Brockington Ohio State Champion Michigan, Northwestern Mike Adamle 1969 1971 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. Michigan knew its season would be ten games, regardless of record, long before the season opener. The Wolverines represented the conference in the previous year's Rose Bowl, and Big Ten rules at the time (a) prohibited a team from making consecutive appearances in the Rose Bowl, and (b) prohibited teams from accepting a berth to a bowl game other than the one in Pasadena. The no-repeat rule was repealed for the 1972 season, but the ban on other bowls was not lifted until 1975; the latter rule kept the Wolverines out of the postseason in 1972, '73 and '74 despite compiling a 30-2-1 record over those seasons. 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.Wildcats' Adamle Wins the 1970 'Silver Football' Detroit Free Press December 26, 1970 2B https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7291909/wildcats_adamle_wins_the_1970_silver/ Season overview Results and team statistics Conf. RankTeamHead coachAP finalAP highOverall recordConf. recordPPGPAGMVP1Ohio StateWoody Hayes#5#19–17–029.012.0Jim Stillwagon2 (tie)MichiganBo Schembechler#9#49–16–128.89.0Don MoorheadHenry Hill2 (tie)NorthwesternAlex AgaseNR#186-46-123.316.1Mike Adamle4IowaRay NagelNRNR3–6–13–3–112.925.9Dave Clement5 (tie)WisconsinJohn JardineNRNR4–5–13–419.819.5Chuck Winfrey5 (tie)Michigan StateDuffy DaughertyNRNR4–63–419.021.5Eric Allen7MinnesotaMurray WarmathNRNR3–6–12–4–118.023.7Jeff Wright8PurdueBob DeMossNRNR4–62–516.118.9Stan Brown9 (tie)IllinoisJim ValekNRNR3–71–616.527.9Doug Dieken9 (tie)IndianaJohn PontNRNR1–91–610.230.0Chris Morris Key AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1970 season AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1970 season PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold 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 boldAdamle Voted Big 10's Most Valuable: Wildcat Star '70 Winner of Silver Football Chicago Tribune Roy Damer 3-1, 3-3 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8674829/vote_adamle_most_valuable_in_big_10/ Preseason Regular season Bowl games 1971 Rose Bowl l January 1, 1971 12 Stanford 2 Ohio State Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl 17–27 103,839 Eastern Standard Time AP Poll Post-season developments Statistical leaders Passing yards 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) Rushing yards 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) Receiving yards 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)1970 Big Ten Conference Year Summary Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football November 2, 2016 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/1970.html Total yards 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) Scoring 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) Awards and honors All-Big Ten honors the complete All-Big Ten selections 1970 All-Big Ten Conference football team 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 PositionNameTeamSelectorsQuarterbackDon MoorheadMichiganAP, UPIHalfbackMike AdamleNorthwesternAP, UPIFullbackJohn BrockingtonOhio StateAP, UPITight endDoug DiekenIllinoisUPIOffensive endPaul StarobaMichiganAP, UPI [split end]Offensive endLarry MialikWisconsinAPFlankerBarry PearsonNorthwesternAPOffensive tackleDan DierdorfMichiganAP, UPIOffensive tackleJohn RodmanNorthwesternAPOffensive tackleDave CheneyOhio StateUPIOffensive guardMike SikichNorthwesternAP, UPIOffensive guardReggie McKenzieMichiganUPIOffensive guardPhil StricklandOhio StateAPCenterTom DeLeoneOhio StateAPCenterGuy MurdockMichiganUPI [tie]CenterJoe ZigulichNorthwesternUPI [tie] Defense PositionNameTeamSelectorsDefensive endPhil SeymourMichiganAP, UPIDefensive endBill GregoryWisconsinAP, UPI [def. tackle]Defensive endMark DebevcOhio StateUPIDefensive tacklePete NewellMichiganAP, UPIMiddle guardHenry HillMichiganAP [def. tackle], UPI [tie]Middle guardJim StillwagonOhio StateAP [linebacker], UPI [tie]LinebackerChuck WinfreyWisconsinAP, UPILinebackerBill LightMinnesotaAPLinebackerMarty HuffMichigan UPIDefensive backEric HutchinsonNorthwesternAP, UPIDefensive backMike SensibaughOhio StateAP [safety], UPIDefensive backJack TatumOhio StateAP, UPIDefensive backJeff WrightMinnesotaAPDefensive backThom DardenMichiganUPI All-American honors the complete All-America selections 1970 College Football All-America Team 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.2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 2014 January 27, 2017 5–6 http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2014/Awards.pdf December 22, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20141222163944/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2014/Awards.pdf dead The Big Ten's consensus All-American was: PositionNameTeamSelectorsDefensive backJack TatumOhio StateAFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, FN, PFW, Time, TSN, WCFFOffensive tackleDan DierdorfMichiganAFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, FN, PFW, Time, WCFFMiddle guardJim StillwagonOhio StateAFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, FN, WCFF Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were: PositionNameTeamSelectorsRunning backJohn BrockingtonOhio StateCP [fullback], UPI, FN, PFW, Time, TSNRunning backMike AdamleNorthwesternFNRunning backLeo HaydenOhio StatePFWTight endJan WhiteOhio StateNEA, Time, TSNMiddle guardHenry HillMichiganCPLinebackerMarty HuffMichiganAFCADefensive backMike SensibaughOhio StateCP [safety], UPIDefensive backTim AndersonOhio StateTime, TSN Other awards 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).1970 Heisman Trophy Voting Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football January 17, 2017 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/awards/heisman-1970.html 1971 NFL draft The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1971 NFL draft:1971 NFL Draft: Full Draft National Football League NFL.com January 27, 2017 http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?season=1971 NamePositionTeamRoundOverall pickJohn BrockingtonRunning backOhio State19Jack TatumSafetyOhio State119William Tim AndersonCornerbackOhio State123Leo HaydenRunning backOhio State124Jan WhiteTight endOhio State229 Dan DierdorfTackleMichigan243Paul StarobaWide receiverMichigan366Bill GregoryDefensive tackleWisconsin377 References