1970 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1970 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record3–7 (1–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPDoug Dieken
Captains
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
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
1 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Indiana 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1970 Big Ten season. In their fourth and final year under head coach Jim Valek, the Fighting Illini compiled a 3–7 record (1–6 in conference games), finished in a tie for last place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 279 to 165.[1]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Mike Wells (906 passing yards, 41.8% completion percentage), running back Darrell Robinson (749 rushing yards, 3.9 yards per carry), and tight end Doug Dieken (39 receptions for 537 yards).[2] Dieken was selected for the second consecutive year as the team's most valuable player.[3] Dieken also won first-team honors on the 1970 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[4][5]

The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 19Oregon*
W 20–1633,246[6]
September 26Tulane*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 9–2327,864[7]
October 3Syracuse*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 27–039,357
October 10at Northwestern
L 0–4833,316
October 17Indiana
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
L 24–3042,079–42,708[8]
October 24No. 1 Ohio State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (Illibuck)
L 29–4846,208
October 31at Purdue
W 23–2167,747
November 7at No. 5 Michigan
L 0–4270,781[9]
November 14Wisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 17–2936,569
November 21at Iowa
L 16–2238,700
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Oregon

Team 1 234Total
Oregon 0 709 16
• Illinois 0 1073 20
Scoring summary
Q24:36ILLWells 1 yard run (Wells kick)ILL 7–0
Q21:37ORENewland 95 yard pass from Blanchard (Woody kick)Tie 7–7
Q20:01ILLWells 37 yard field goalILL 10–7
Q312:51ILLDieken 26 yard pass from Wells (Wells kick)ILL 17–7
Q49:49ILLWells 22 yard field goalILL 20–7
Q44:30OREMarshall 24 yard run (Woody kick)ILL 20–14
Q41:45ORESafety, Wells tackled by Reeves in end zoneILL 20–16

[10]

Roster

1970 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
G 82 Doug Dieken Sr
OT 54 Larry McCarren So
QB 12 Mike Wells So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 52 Larry Allen So
S 29 Steve Allen Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

References

  1. ^ "1970 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
  2. ^ "1970 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
  3. ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  4. ^ "Bucks, Michigan Top All-Big Ten Team". Jacksonville (Ill.) Journal. December 1, 1970. p. 10.
  5. ^ "Buckeyes place 6 on all-Big Ten team". The Bryan Times (AP story). November 27, 1970. p. 10.
  6. ^ Cawood, Neil (September 20, 1970). "Underdog Illinois hands Oregon 20-16 loss". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  7. ^ "Tulane steals five passes, stings Wells, Illinois, 23–9". Herald and Review. September 27, 1970. Retrieved October 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Indiana Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF). Indiana University. p. 14. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  9. ^ Curt Sylvester (November 8, 1970). "U-M Rocks Outclassed Illini, 42-0". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 4C – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1970 Sep 20. Retrieved 2018-Nov-04.
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