1970 Kansas State Wildcats football team

1970 Kansas State Wildcats football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	6–5 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach	Vince Gibson (4th season)
Home stadium	KSU Stadium
Seasons ←  1969 1971  →

1970 Big Eight Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Nebraska $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	0	–	1
No. 20 Oklahoma	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	1
Kansas State	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Colorado	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Oklahoma State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Iowa State	1	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 Kansas State Wildcats football team represented Kansas State University in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. ^[1] The team's head football coach was Vince Gibson. The Wildcats played their home games in KSU Stadium.

Senior quarterback Lynn Dickey led the team to a third straight season as the top-rated passing offense in the Big Eight Conference. Kansas State also led the conference in total defense, and posted its first win against a top-ten team, beating #8 Colorado. The Wildcats went into the final conference game of the season against Nebraska ranked #20 and playing for the Big Eight championship. The #4-ranked Cornhuskers throttled Kansas State 51–13 in the game. Kansas State did not return to the national rankings again until the 1993 season.

The team finished with a winning record in conference play for the first time since 1953. And their first winning season in general since 1954. After the season Gibson was named coach of the year by the Big Eight.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12		Utah State *	No. 14	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	W 37–0	35,000	[2]
September 19		at Kentucky *	No. 13	McLean Stadium Lexington, KY	L 3–16	33,500	[3]
September 26		at Arizona State *		Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	L 13–35	50,255	[4]
October 3		No. 8 Colorado		KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)	W 21–20	40,200	[5]
October 10		Kansas		KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)	L 15–21	42,000	[6]
October 17	1:30 p.m.	at Iowa State		Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA (rivalry)	W 17–0	28,000	[7]
October 24		at Oklahoma		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	W 19–14	60,800	[8]
October 31		No. 17 Missouri		KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	W 17–13	42,000	[9]
November 7		Oklahoma State		KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	W 28–15	38,300	[10]
November 14		at No. 4 Nebraska	No. 20	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	L 13–51	67,894	[11]
November 21		at Florida State *		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	L 7–31	23,448	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[13]

Roster

1970 Kansas State Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 11 Lynn Dickey Sr RB 23 Mike Montgomery Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 20 Ron Dickerson Jr DB 26 Clarence Scott Sr DE 70 Ron Yankowski Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Vince Gibson Coordinators/assistant coaches Bobby Jackson –Quarterbacks/running backs Don Powell –Offensive line Jerry Elliott –Defensive line Bob Frazier –Defensive ends Sam Robertson –Linebackers Jesse Branch –Defensive backs Gene McDowell –Assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "1970 Kansas State Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
2. "K-State rips Utah State in season opener, 37 to 0". Chicago Tribune. September 13, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Kentucky hits K-State, 16–3". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. September 20, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Sun Devils rip 'Cats". The Kansas City Star. September 27, 1970. Retrieved September 16, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Wildcat rally stuns Colorado, 21–20". Santa Barbara News-Press. October 4, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "KU capitalizes on Purple mistakes to win, 21–15". Great Bend Tribune. October 11, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Scott's theft turns tide as Wildcats blank Cyclones". The Wichita Eagle & Beacon. October 18, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Wildcats score late to tumble Sooners". Southwest Times Record. October 25, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Missouri is upset". The Houston Post. November 1, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Cats use air and ground game to subdue Cowboys". The Salina Journal. November 8, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Cornhuskers breeze past outclassed Kansas State". San Angelo Standard-Times. November 15, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Dazzling FSU defense wrecks Kansas State". The Birmingham News. November 22, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Schedule/Results (1970 Kansas State)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved October 19, 2025.