CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1970 Stanford

9–⁠3 (6–⁠1 Pac-8), coached by John Ralston, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Stanford in 1970, game by game: won at No. 4 Arkansas 34–28; won vs. San José State 34–3; won at Oregon 33–10; lost vs. Purdue 14–26; won vs. No. 4 USC 24–14; won at Washington State 63–16; won at No. 16 UCLA 9–7; won vs. Oregon State 48–10; won vs. Washington 29–22; lost at No. 13 Air Force 14–31; lost at California 14–22; won vs. No. 2 Ohio State 27–17+47−17Won 34–28 at No. 4 Arkansas+6No. 4 ArkansasWon 34–3 vs. San José State+31San José StateWon 33–10 at Oregon+23OregonLost 14–26 vs. Purdue-12PurdueWon 24–14 vs. No. 4 USC+10No. 4 USCWon 63–16 at Washington State+47Washington StateWon 9–7 at No. 16 UCLA+2No. 16 UCLAWon 48–10 vs. Oregon State+38Oregon StateWon 29–22 vs. Washington+7WashingtonLost 14–31 at No. 13 Air Force-17No. 13 Air ForceLost 14–22 at California-8CaliforniaWon 27–17 vs. No. 2 Ohio State+10No. 2 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12at4ArkansasW 34–⁠2840%
Sep 19vsSan José StateW 34–⁠387%
Sep 26atOregonW 33–⁠1068%
Oct 3vsPurdueL 14–⁠2668%
Oct 10vs4USCW 24–⁠1443%
Oct 17atWashington StateW 63–⁠1682%
Oct 24at16UCLAW 9–⁠748%
Oct 31vsOregon StateW 48–⁠1075%
Nov 7vsWashingtonW 29–⁠2282%
Nov 14at13Air ForceL 14–⁠3149%
Nov 21atCaliforniaL 14–⁠2266%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs2Ohio StateRose BowlW 27–⁠1735%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Ohio State 27–⁠17 in the Rose Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; Pac-8 champions.

In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 109 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 10
  2. Wk 2: 4
  3. Wk 3: 3
  4. Wk 4: 3
  5. Wk 5: 12
  6. Wk 6: 9
  7. Wk 7: 8
  8. Wk 8: 6
  9. Wk 9: 6
  10. Wk 10: 6
  11. Wk 11: 11
  12. Wk 12: 13
  13. Wk 13: 12
  14. Wk 14: 12
  15. Final: 8

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.

Pac-8 champions6–⁠1 in the conference

Led the nationJim Plunkett: total offense (3,189 yds)

Heisman TrophyJim Plunkett, QB; also the Maxwell and Walter Camp

Consensus All-AmericanJim Plunkett, QB

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠1 first in Pac-8
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 3
Points
343–⁠206
Coach
John Ralston
Elo
1680 +65 this season
SP+ rating
24.1 No. 9 of 117; offense No. 9, defense No. 14
SRS
25.9 No. 9 of 123 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Jim Plunkett and Jack Schultz

Drafted in 1971

The 1971 draft
Rd 1Jim Plunkett QBNew England Patriots
Rd 4David Tipton DTNew York Giants
Rd 5Bob Moore TEOakland Raiders
Rd 5Ron Kadziel LBDallas Cowboys

All-Pac-8

7 first team, 2 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 Pac-8 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Stanford6–⁠19–⁠38
Washington4–⁠36–⁠4
Oregon4–⁠36–⁠4–⁠1
California4–⁠36–⁠5
UCLA4–⁠36–⁠5
USC3–⁠46–⁠4–⁠115
Oregon State3–⁠46–⁠5
Washington State0–⁠71–⁠10

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