# 1970 Stanford Indians football team

The 1970 Stanford Indians football team represented Stanford University during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season.
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. In the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on New Year's Day, they upset No. 2 Ohio State.
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 | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 12 | at No. 4 Arkansas* | No. 10 | War Memorial StadiumLittle Rock, AR | ABC | W 34–28 | 48,000 |
| September 19 | San Jose State* | No. 4 | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA (rivalry) | | W 34–3 | |
| September 26 | at Oregon | No. 3 | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | | W 33–10 | 38,400 |
| October 3 | Purdue* | No. 3 | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA | | L 14–26 | 62,000 |
| October 10 | No. 4 USC | No. 12 | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA (rivalry) | | W 24–14 | 86,000 |
| October 17 | at Washington State | No. 9 | Joe Albi StadiumSpokane, WA | | W 63–16 | 30,400 |
| October 24 | at No. 16 UCLA | No. 8 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | | W 9–7 | 83,518 |
| October 31 | Oregon State | No. 6 | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA | | W 48–10 | 65,000 |
| November 7 | Washington | No. 6 | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA | ABC | W 29–22 | 59,066 |
| November 14 | at No. 13 Air Force* | No. 6 | Falcon StadiumColorado Springs, CO | | L 14–31 | 41,638 |
| November 21 | at California | No. 11 | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA (Big Game) | | L 14–22 | 76,799 |
| January 1, 1971 | vs. No. 2 Ohio State* | No. 12 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | NBC | W 27–17 | 103,839 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||||

## NFL draft

Five Stanford players were selected in the 1971 NFL draft.
| Player | Position | Round | Overall | Franchise |
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| 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 |

## Awards and honors

* Jim Plunkett, Heisman Trophy
* Jim Plunkett, Walter Camp Award
* Jim Plunkett, Maxwell Award