The 1970 LSU Tigers football team represented
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
during the
1970 NCAA University Division football season
The 1970 NCAA University Division football season was marked by tragedy, due to two airplane crashes. On October 2, one of the planes carrying the Wichita State football team crashed on the way to a game against Utah State, killing 31 people on ...
.
Following a 3–0 loss to No. 2
Notre Dame at
South Bend, LSU was extended a bid to face
Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...
champion
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
in the
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...
. However, the bid was contingent on the Tigers defeating both
Tulane at
and
Ole Miss at
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...
in the final two weeks of the season.
Still steaming about being shut out of the major bowl games in
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
despite a 9–1 record, LSU responded to the challenge. The Tigers overcame a stubborn Tulane squad, which went on to defeat
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
in the
Liberty Bowl
The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City ...
, 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.
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
Roster
Team players drafted into the NFL
References
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
LSU Tigers football seasons
Southeastern Conference football champion seasons
LSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football program, also known as the Fighting Tigers, represents Louisiana State University in college football. The Tigers compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) an ...
{{BatonRougeLA-sport-stub