1970 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 1970 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1970 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 17th year under head coach Murray Warmath, the Golden Gophers compiled a 3–6–1 record and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 237 to 180.[1]

1970 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record3–6–1 (2–4–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPJeff Wright
CaptainJeff Wright
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
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

Defensive back Jeff Wright received the team's Most Valuable Player award. Linebacker Bill Light and Wright were named All-Big Ten first team. Offensive tackle Alvin Hawes, running back Barry Mayer and safety Walt Bowser were named All-Big Ten second team. Mayer was named an Academic All-American. Mayer was also named Academic All-Big Ten.[2] The team included offensive lineman, Richard Fliehr, better known as professional wrestler Ric Flair.

Total attendance at five home games was 225,468, which averaged to 45,093. The largest crowd was against Nebraska.[3] 1970 was the first season Memorial Stadium had a Tartan Turf surface.

Schedule

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DateOpponentSiteResultAttendance
September 19at No. 10 Missouri*L 12–3457,200
September 26Ohio*W 49–739,593
October 3No. 6 Nebraska*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)
L 10–3552,287
October 10Indiana
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
W 23–040,220
October 17at No. 1 Ohio StateL 8–2886,667
October 24at No. 5 MichiganL 13–3983,496
October 31Iowa
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)
T 14–1451,345
November 7at NorthwesternL 14–2833,437
November 14Michigan State 
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
W 23–1342,834
November 21at WisconsinL 14–3950,167
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

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1970 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 10 Craig Curry Jr
OT 72 Matt Herkenhoff Fr
TE 83 Doug Kingsriter So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 33 Tom MacLeod So
DB 27 Jeff Wright Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

References

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  1. ^ "1970 Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  2. ^ Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), pp. 179–182[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 160[permanent dead link]