1970 Kansas Jayhawks football team

The 1970 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the Big Eight Conference during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. In their fourth and final season under head coach Pepper Rodgers, the Jayhawks compiled a 5–6 record (2–5 against conference opponents), tied for sixth place in the Big Eight Conference, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 277 to 270.^[1][2] They played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas, where artificial turf was installed.

1970 Kansas Jayhawks football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	5–6 (2–5 Big 8)
Head coach	Pepper Rodgers (4th season)
Captain	Larry Brown
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1969 1971 →

1970 Big Eight Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Nebraska $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	0	–	1
No. 20 Oklahoma	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	1
Kansas State	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Colorado	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Oklahoma State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Iowa State	1	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included Dan Heck with 1,169 passing yards, John Riggins with 1,131 rushing yards and Ron Jessie with 308 receiving yards.^[3] Larry Brown was the team captain.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12		Washington State*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	W 48–31	31,971–34,000
September 19		Texas Tech*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 0–23	36,355–38,700	[4]
September 26		at Syracuse*	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	W 31–14	20,643–25,000
October 3		New Mexico*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	W 49–23	39,094–41,000	[5]
October 10		at Kansas State	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)	W 21–15	41,070
October 17		No. 5 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS (rivalry)	L 20–41	46,500–50,200
October 24	1:30 p.m.	Iowa State	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	W 24–10	34,837–37,750	[6]
October 31		at Oklahoma State	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	L 7–19	33,488–35,000
November 7		at Colorado	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	L 29–45	37,250–38,445
November 14		Oklahoma	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 24–28	36,820
November 21		at Missouri	Memorial Stadium Columbia, MO (Border War)	L 17–28	57,521
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Roster

1970 Kansas Jayhawks football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 70 Larry Brown Sr WR 23 Ron Jessie Sr OT 78 Steve Lawson Sr RB 32 John Riggins Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Pepper Rodgers Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

1971 NFL draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
John Riggins	Fullback	1	6	New York Jets
Steve Lawson	Guard	2	41	Cincinnati Bengals
Larry Brown	Tight end	5	106	Pittsburgh Steelers
Ron Jessie	Wide receiver	8	206	Dallas Cowboys