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American college football season
The 1970 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1970 Big Ten Conference football season . In their fourth and final year under head coach Jim Valek , the Illini compiled a 3–7 record and finished in a tie for last place in the Big Ten Conference .[ 1]
The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Mike Wells with 906 passing yards, running back Darrell Robinson with 749 rushing yards, and wide receiver Doug Dieken with 537 receiving yards.[ 2] Dieken was selected for the second consecutive year as the team's most valuable player.[ 3]
Date Opponent Site Result Attendance Source September 19 Oregon * W 20–1633,246 [ 4]
September 26 Tulane * Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL L 9–2327,864 [ 5]
October 3 Syracuse * Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL W 27–039,357
October 10 at Northwestern L 0–4833,316
October 17 Indiana Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry ) L 24–3042,079–42,708 [ 6]
October 24 No. 1 Ohio State L 29–4846,208
October 31 at Purdue W 23–2167,747
November 7 at No. 5 Michigan L 0–4270,781 [ 7]
November 14 Wisconsin Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL L 17–2936,569
November 21 at Iowa L 16–2238,700
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
1970 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
LB
52
Larry Allen
So
S
29
Steve Allen
Sr
Special teams
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Roster
1
2 3 4 Total
Oregon
0
7 0 9
16
• Illinois
0
10 7 3
20
Scoring summary Q2 4:36 ILL Wells 1 yard run (Wells kick) ILL 7–0
Q2 1:37 ORE Newland 95 yard pass from Blanchard (Woody kick) Tie 7–7
Q2 0:01 ILL Wells 37 yard field goal ILL 10–7
Q3 12:51 ILL Dieken 26 yard pass from Wells (Wells kick) ILL 17–7
Q4 9:49 ILL Wells 22 yard field goal ILL 20–7
Q4 4:30 ORE Marshall 24 yard run (Woody kick) ILL 20–14
Q4 1:45 ORE Safety, Wells tackled by Reeves in end zone ILL 20–16
[ 8]
^ "1970 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015 .
^ "1970 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015 .
^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF) . University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 29, 2016 .
^ Cawood, Neil (September 20, 1970). "Underdog Illinois hands Oregon 20-16 loss" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). p. 1B.
^ "Tulane steals five passes, stings Wells, Illinois, 23–9" . Herald and Review . September 27, 1970. Retrieved October 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Indiana Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF) . Indiana University . p. 14. Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Curt Sylvester (November 8, 1970). "U-M Rocks Outclassed Illini, 42-0" . Detroit Free Press . pp. 1C, 4C – via Newspapers.com .
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1970 Sep 20. Retrieved 2018-Nov-04.
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