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1970 Michigan State

4–⁠6 (3–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Duffy Daugherty.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 1970, game by game: lost at Washington 16–42; won vs. Washington State 28–14; lost vs. No. 4 Notre Dame 0–29; lost vs. No. 1 Ohio State 0–29; lost at No. 6 Michigan 20–34; won vs. Iowa 37–0; won at Indiana 32–7; won vs. Purdue 24–14; lost at Minnesota 13–23; lost vs. No. 18 Northwestern 20–23+37−29Lost 16–42 at Washington-26WashingtonWon 28–14 vs. Washington State+14Washington StateLost 0–29 vs. No. 4 Notre Dame-29No. 4 Notre DameLost 0–29 vs. No. 1 Ohio State-29No. 1 Ohio StateLost 20–34 at No. 6 Michigan-14No. 6 MichiganWon 37–0 vs. Iowa+37IowaWon 32–7 at Indiana+25IndianaWon 24–14 vs. Purdue+10PurdueLost 13–23 at Minnesota-10MinnesotaLost 20–23 vs. No. 18 Northwestern-3No. 18 Northwestern
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 19atWashingtonL 16–⁠4255%
Sep 26vsWashington StateW 28–⁠1469%
Oct 3vs4Notre DameL 0–⁠2930%
Oct 10vs1Ohio StateL 0–⁠2929%
Oct 17at6MichiganL 20–⁠3416%
Oct 24vsIowaW 37–⁠060%
Oct 31atIndianaW 32–⁠754%
Nov 7vsPurdueW 24–⁠1450%
Nov 14atMinnesotaL 13–⁠2348%
Nov 21vs18NorthwesternL 20–⁠2356%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Northwestern 23–⁠20; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 83rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1970.

Record
4–⁠6
Conference
3–⁠4 tied for 5th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
190–⁠215
Coach
Duffy Daugherty
Elo
1478 −23 this season
SP+ rating
2.5 No. 57 of 117; offense No. 61, defense No. 52
SRS
10.2 No. 38 of 123 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Gordon Bowdell, Michael Hogan and Wilt Martin
Most valuable player
Eric Allen

Drafted in 1971

The 1971 draft
Rd 6Harold Phillips DBDenver Broncos
Rd 7Gordon Bowdell WRBaltimore Colts

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1970 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1970 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State7–⁠09–⁠15
Michigan6–⁠19–⁠19
Northwestern6–⁠16–⁠4
Iowa3–⁠3–⁠13–⁠6–⁠1
Wisconsin3–⁠44–⁠5–⁠1
Michigan State3–⁠44–⁠6
Minnesota2–⁠4–⁠13–⁠6–⁠1
Purdue2–⁠54–⁠6
Illinois1–⁠63–⁠7
Indiana1–⁠61–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.