1970 Stanford Indians football team

The 1970 Stanford Indians football team represented Stanford University during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season.

1970 Stanford Indians football
Pac-8 champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 27–17 vs. Ohio State
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 8
Record	9–3 (6–1 Pac-8)
Head coach	John Ralston (8th season)
Captains	Jim Plunkett Jack Schultz
Home stadium	Stanford Stadium
Seasons ← 1969 1971 →

1970 Pacific-8 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 Stanford $	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Washington	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Oregon	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
UCLA	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
California	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
No. 15 USC	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
Oregon State	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Washington State	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The Indians were 8–3 in the regular season and won the Pac-8 title by two games; their only conference loss was at rival California in the Big Game on November 21.^[1] In the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on New Year's Day, they upset No. 2 Ohio State.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

With eighteen passing and three rushing touchdowns added to his 2,715 passing yards on the year (which broke his own conference record), Rose Bowl MVP Jim Plunkett was awarded the Heisman Trophy. The 1970 college season had been the "Year of the Quarterback," and Plunkett beat out Notre Dame's Joe Theismann and Archie Manning of Ole Miss to win the award.

Plunkett was the first Latino to win the Heisman Trophy; he also captured the Maxwell Award for the nation's best quarterback and was named player of the year by United Press International, The Sporting News, and SPORT magazine. In addition, the American College Football Coaches Association designated him as their Offensive Player of the Year.

Plunkett was the first overall pick of the 1971 NFL draft, selected by the Boston Patriots; the team relocated to the new Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough before the 1971 season began and became the New England Patriots.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12		at No. 4 Arkansas*	No. 10	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	ABC	W 34–28	48,000	[7]
September 19	1:35 p.m.	San Jose State*	No. 4	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)		W 34–3	46,000
September 26	1:30 p.m.	at Oregon	No. 3	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR		W 33–10	38,400	[8]
October 3		Purdue*	No. 3	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA		L 14–26	62,000
October 10		No. 4 USC	No. 12	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)		W 24–14	86,000
October 17	1:32 p.m.	at Washington State	No. 9	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA		W 63–16	30,400
October 24	8:00 p.m.	at No. 16 UCLA	No. 8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 9–7	83,518–83,582	[9]
October 31	1:34 p.m.	Oregon State	No. 6	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA		W 48–10	65,000
November 7	1:29 p.m.	Washington	No. 6	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	ABC	W 29–22	58,000–59,066
November 14	12:00 p.m.	at No. 13 Air Force*	No. 6	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		L 14–31	41,638	[10]
November 21	1:30 p.m.	at California	No. 11	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (Big Game)		L 14–22	76,799–76,804	[11]
January 1, 1971		vs. No. 2 Ohio State*	No. 12	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	W 27–17	103,839
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

^[12]

Roster

1970 Stanford Cardinal football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OL Doug Adams RB 33 Jackie Brown Jr QB 13 Don Bunce  Jr WR Eric Cross QB 11 Jesse Freitas OL Larry Jones OL Steve Jubb RB Jim Kehl WR Jack Lasater OL Dan Lightfoot RB James Merrill OL Bill Meyers TE 86 Bob Moore Sr QB 16 Jim Plunkett (C) Sr OL John Sande RB Reggie Sanderson TE Bill Scott OL Dennis Sheehan FB 38 Hillary Shockley Jr OL Terrell Smith WR 18 Randy Vataha Sr WR Demea Washington	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL Bill Alexander S 29 Benny Barnes Jr DL 73 Larry Butler Jr DB Mike Ewing DL Jody Graves LB 87 Ron Kadziel Sr DB Jim Kauffman DE 78 Pete Lazetich Jr DB Charles McCloud DL Tim McClure LB Dennis Moore DB Pat Moore DB Steve Murray DE 91 Greg Sampson Jr LB Phil Satre DB 44 Jack Schultz (C) Sr ILB 92 Jeff Siemon Jr LB Mike Simone DT 76 Dave Tipton Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 56 Steve Horowitz Sr P 25 Steve Murray So	Head coach John Ralston Coordinators/assistant coaches Mike White – Offensive line Jack Christiansen – Offensive backfield Edward Peasley – Linebacker Bob Gambold – Defensive backs Bill Moultrie – Assistant Roger Theder – Wide receivers Max McCartney – Defensive line Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

^[13]

Awards and honors

• Jim Plunkett: Heisman Trophy,^[14] Walter Camp Award, Maxwell Award

NFL draft

Five Stanford players were selected in the 1971 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
Jim Plunkett	Quarterback	1	1	New England Patriots
Dave Tipton	Defensive tackle	4	96	New York Giants
Bob Moore	Tight end	5	123	Oakland Raiders
Ron Kadziel	Linebacker	5	129	Dallas Cowboys
Randy Vataha	Wide receiver	17	418	Los Angeles Rams

}^[15]