1970 LSU Tigers football team

1970 LSU Tigers football
SEC champion
Orange Bowl, L 12–17 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 7
Record	9–3 (5–0 SEC)
Head coach	Charles McClendon (9th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Tiger Stadium
Seasons ←  1969 1971  →

1970 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 7 LSU $	5	–	0	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 4 Tennessee	4	–	1	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 10 Auburn	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 20 Ole Miss	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Florida	3	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Georgia	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Alabama	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	1
Mississippi State	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Vanderbilt	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Kentucky	0	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season.

Following a 3–0 loss to No. 2 Notre Dame at South Bend, LSU was extended a bid to face Big Eight Conference champion Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. However, the bid was contingent on the Tigers defeating both Tulane at New Orleans and Ole Miss at Baton Rouge in the final two weeks of the season.

Still steaming about being shut out of the major bowl games in 1969 despite a 9–1 record, LSU responded to the challenge. The Tigers overcame a stubborn Tulane squad, which went on to defeat Colorado in the Liberty Bowl, and then dismantled Ole Miss 61–17 in front of a large television audience and nearly 70,000 fans in Tiger Stadium. In that game, Tommy Casanova tied an NCAA record with two punt return touchdowns in a single game, Craig Burns returned a third put for a touchdown, and Ronnie Estay sacked Rebel quarterback Archie Manning for a safety. ^[1]

In the Orange Bowl, LSU led Nebraska 12-10 after three quarters, but a late touchdown by Jerry Tagge lifted the Cornhuskers to a 17–12 victory and the Associated Press national championship.

Casanova and linebacker Mike Anderson were recognized as consensus All-Americans.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19	Texas A&M *	No. 12	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)		L 18–20	67,590	[2]
September 26	Rice *		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 24–0	65,000	[3]
October 3	Baylor *		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 31–10	60,000	[4]
October 10	Pacific (CA) *	No. 19	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 34–0	48,000	[5]
October 17	Kentucky	No. 15	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 14–7	67,508	[6]
October 24	at No. 6 Auburn	No. 14	Cliff Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)		W 17–9	62,301–62,392	[7]
November 7	at No. 19 Alabama	No. 11	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (rivalry)	ABC	W 14–9	60,371	[8] [9]
November 14	Mississippi State	No. 9	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)		W 38–7	64,000	[10]
November 21	at No. 2 Notre Dame *	No. 6	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN		L 0–3	59,075	[11]
November 28	at Tulane *	No. 6	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA (Battle for the Rag)		W 26–14	81,233	[12]
December 5	No. 16 Ole Miss	No. 8	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	ABC	W 61–17	67,590	[13]
January 1, 1971	vs. No. 3 Nebraska *	No. 5	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)	NBC	L 12–17	80,699	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1970 LSU Tigers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class C 71 Dennis Mclean (C) Sr HB 24 Art Cantrelle Jr SB 3 Al Coffee So WR 80 Andy Hamilton Jr QB 18 Buddy Lee Sr QB 7 Bert Jones So	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 45 Mike Anderson Sr DB 37 Tommy Casanova Jr DT 78 Ron Estay Jr DT 73 John Sage Sr DE 79 John Wood So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 25 Mark Lumpkin Sr	Head coach Charles McClendon Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL team
Buddy Lee	Quarterback	7	126	Chicago Bears
Mike Anderson	Linebacker	9	216	New York Jets
John Sage	Linebacker	17	420	Philadelphia
Dennis Mclean	Offensive Lineman	10	261	Pittsburgh Steelers. He Decided to serve in Vietnam rather than join the NFL

^[15]

References

1. "Tiger Den Archives – V". Golden Rankings. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
2. "Last-second score shocks LSU 20–18". Tallahassee Democrat. September 20, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
3. "LSU takes 24–0 win". San Antonio Express/News. September 27, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Louisiana State aerial attack scuttles Baylor". The Odessa American. October 4, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
5. "UOP runs into 34–0 beating by tough Louisiana State". The Sacramento Bee. October 11, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Cantrelle, Walker send LSU over Kentucky, 14–7". Daily Press. October 18, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
7. "LSU's defense stymies Auburn". The Charlotte Observer. October 25, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
8. Land, Charles (November 8, 1970). "Tiger defense handles Tide". The Tuscaloosa News. p. B1. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
9. "Bengals put clamps on Alabama". The News and Courier. Associated Press. November 8, 1970. p. 9B. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
10. "Tigers use whip on Bulldogs, 38–7". The Shreveport Times. November 15, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Irish fight past LSU 3–0". Star Tribune. November 22, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Tulane loses to LSU, but comes up winner". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. November 29, 1970. Retrieved October 1, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Nation watches LSU rout Rebels, 61–17". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. December 6, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Tagge leads Nebraska Number 1 crown claim". The Austin American-Statesman. January 2, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
15. "1971 NFL Draft Listing | Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2018.