1970 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

American college football season

1970 Minnesota Golden Gophers football

Conference| Big Ten Conference
Record| 3–6–1 (2–4–1 Big Ten)
Head coach|

* Murray Warmath (17th season)

MVP| Jeff Wright
Captain| Jeff Wright
Home stadium| Memorial Stadium

Seasons

<- 1969

1971 ->

1970 Big Ten Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| 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 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]

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

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance

|
|
|
|

September 19| at No. 10 Missouri*|

* Faurot Field
* Columbia, MI

| L 12–34| 57,200
September 26| Ohio*|

* Memorial Stadium
* Minneapolis, MN

| W 49–7| 39,593
October 3| No. 6 Nebraska*|

* Memorial Stadium
* Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)

| L 10–35| 52,287
October 10| Indiana|

* Memorial Stadium
* Minneapolis, MN

| W 23–0| 40,220
October 17| at No. 1 Ohio State|

* Ohio Stadium
* Columbus, OHN

| L 8–28| 86,667
October 24| at No. 5 Michigan|

* Michigan Stadium
* Ann Arbor, MI (Little Brown Jug)

| L 13–39| 83,496
October 31| Iowa|

* Memorial Stadium
* Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)

| T 14–14| 51,345
November 7| at Northwestern|

* Dyche Stadium
* Evanston, IL

| L 14–28| 33,437
November 14| Michigan State|

* Memorial Stadium
* Minneapolis, MN

| W 23–13| 42,834
November 21| at Wisconsin|

* Camp Randall Stadium
* Madison, WI (rivalry)

| L 14–39| 50,167

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

## Roster

[edit]

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

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|
|

Head coach

* Murray Warmath

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Redshirt

## References

[edit]

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]

* v
* t
* e

Minnesota Golden Gophers football

Venues|

* Athletic Park (1892–1898)
* University of Minnesota Armory (1892–1898)
* Northrop Field (1899–1923)
* Memorial Stadium (1924–1981)
* Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (1982–2008)
* Huntington Bank Stadium (2009–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Iowa
* Michigan: Little Brown Jug
* Nebraska
* Wisconsin

Culture & lore|

* Goldy Gopher
* Marching band
* Spirit squad
* "Minnesota Rouser"
* "Minnesota March"
* "Go Gopher Victory"
* "Minnesota Fight"
* "Our Minnesota"
* "Hail! Minnesota"
* "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
* Minnesota shift
* T formation
* Smith of Minnesota

People|

* Head coaches
* Statistical leaders
* NFL draftees
* Annual awards

Seasons|

* 1882
* 1883
* 1884–1885
* 1886
* 1887
* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
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* 1899
* 1900
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* 1913
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* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
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* 1920
* 1921
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* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
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* 1944
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* 1946
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* 1948
* 1949
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* 1969
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National championship seasons in bold
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number