1970 Texas Longhorns football team

1970 Texas Longhorns football
Coaches' Poll national champion
NFF co-national champion
SWC champion
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 3
Record10–1 (7–0 SWC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorEmory Bellard
Offensive schemeWishbone
Defensive coordinatorMike Campbell
Base defense4–4
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1969
1971 →
1970 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Texas $ 7 0 0 10 1 0
No. 11 Arkansas 6 1 0 9 2 0
Texas Tech 5 2 0 8 4 0
Rice 3 4 0 5 5 0
SMU 3 4 0 5 6 0
TCU 3 4 0 4 6 1
Baylor 1 6 0 2 9 0
Texas A&M 0 7 0 2 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. The Longhorns shared the national championship with Nebraska, their third national championship overall.[1] Texas had previously won consensus national titles in 1963 and 1969.

Utilizing a wishbone option offense, the defending national champion Longhorns won all ten regular season games to extend their winning streak to thirty games. They were again awarded the UPI (coaches) national title, released prior to the bowl games in early December.[2]

On New Year's Day 1971, Texas had a rematch with Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl Classic at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park in Dallas. This time, the sixth-ranked Fighting Irish won 24–11, denying top-ranked Texas a third straight Cotton Bowl victory and consecutive consensus national championship.[3][4]

Later that day, second-ranked Ohio State lost 27–17 to #12 Stanford in the Rose Bowl. That night, third-ranked Nebraska defeated #5 LSU 17–12 in the Orange Bowl to give the unbeaten Huskers (11–0–1) the post-bowl AP national championship.[3] Through the 1973 season, the final UPI coaches poll was released prior to the bowl games. (In December 1973, UPI champion Alabama also lost their bowl game.)

  1. ^ "UT Longhorns 1970 Championship Season". Texas Archive of the Moving Image. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  2. ^ "Texas first in final UPI poll". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. UPI. December 8, 1970. p. 30.
  3. ^ a b Jenkins, Dan (January 11, 1971). "The one-day season". Sports Illustrated. p. 10.
  4. ^ "Irish defense spills Texas". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. January 2, 1971. p. 10.