1966 Big Ten Conference football season explained

1966 Big Ten Conference football season
Sport:American football
No Of Teams:10
Top Pick:Bubba Smith
Season Champs:Michigan State
Season Champ Name:Champion
Second Place:Purdue
Mvp:Bob Griese
Prevseason Year:1965
Nextseason Year:1967

The 1966 Big Ten Conference football season was the 71st season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1966 NCAA University Division football season.

The 1966 Michigan State Spartans football team, under head coach Duffy Daugherty, won the Big Ten football championship, compiled a 9–0–1 record, and was ranked No. 2 in the final AP Poll. Four Spartans' players were among the first eight selections in the 1967 NFL/AFL Draft: defensive tackle Bubba Smith (first); running back Clinton Jones (second); linebacker George Webster (fifth); and flanker Gene Washington (eighth).

The 1966 Purdue Boilermakers football team, under head coach Jack Mollenkopf, finished in second place with a 9–2 record and was ranked No. 7 in the final AP Poll. The Boilermakers received the conference's berth to play in the 1967 Rose Bowl because of the Big Ten's "no-repeat" rule and defeated USC, 14–13. Purdue quarterback Bob Griese led the conference in passing yards and total yards and won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's most valuable player and the Sammy Baugh Trophy as the nation's top collegiate passer. Griese also finished second behind Steve Spurrier in the voting for the 1966 Heisman Trophy.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Conf. RankTeamHead coachAP finalAP highOverall recordConf. recordPPGPAGMVP
1Michigan StateDuffy Daugherty
  1. 2
  1. 1
9–0–17–029.39.9George Webster
2PurdueJack Mollenkopf
  1. 7
  1. 7
9–26–127.014.0Bob Griese
3 (tie)MichiganBump ElliottNR
  1. 8
6–44–323.613.8Jack Clancy
3 (tie)IllinoisPete ElliottNRNR4–64–317.319.3Ron Guenther
5MinnesotaMurray WarmathNRNR4–5–13–3–112.416.0Tim Wheeler
6Ohio StateWoody HayesNRNR4–53–412.013.7Ray Pryor
7 (tie)NorthwesternAlex AgaseNRNR3–6–12–4–113.721.3Roger Murphy
7 (tie)WisconsinMilt BruhnNRNR3–6–12–4–18.721.2Bob Richter
9IndianaJohn PontNRNR1–8–11–5–110.422.9Frank Stavroff
10IowaRay NagelNRNR2–81–68.625.3Dick Gibbs
Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1966 season
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1966 season
PPG = Average of points scored per game
PAG = Average of points allowed per game[1]
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold[2]

Bowl games

See main article: 1967 Rose Bowl.

Post-season developments

Statistical leaders

The Big Ten's individual statistical leaders for the 1966 season include the following:[1]

Passing yards

RankNameTeamYards
1Bob GriesePurdue1,749
2Dick VidmerMichigan1,609
3Frank StavroffIndiana1,406
4William LongOhio State1,180
5Bill MelzerNorthwestern1,171

Rushing yards

RankNameTeamYards
1Clinton JonesMichigan State784
2Perry WilliamsPurdue689
3Mike KrivoshiaIndiana675
4Dave FisherMichigan672
5Curt WilsonMinnesota546

Receiving yards

RankNameTeamYards
1Jack ClancyMichigan1,077
2John WrightIllinois831
3Roger MurphyNorthwestern777
4Jim BeirnePurdue768
5Tom McCauleyWisconsin689

Total yards

RankNameTeamYards
1Bob GriesePurdue1,964
2Dick VidmerMichigan1,639
3Jimmy RayeMichigan State1,596
4Ed PodolakIowa1,491
5Frank StavroffIndiana1,328

Scoring

RankNameTeamPoints
1Jim DetwilerMichigan60
2Perry WilliamsPurdue54
2Bob ApisaMichigan State54
4Carl WardMichigan48
4Jim BeirnePurdue48

Awards and honors

All-Big Ten honors

The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1966 All-Big Ten Conference football team.

Offense

PositionNameTeamSelectors
QuarterbackBob GriesePurdueAP, UPI
Running backClinton JonesMichigan StateAP, UPI [halfback]
Running backJim DetwilerMichiganAP, UPI [halfback]
Running backDave FisherMichiganUPI [fullback]
Running backBob ApisaMichigan StateAP
EndGene WashingtonMichigan StateAP, UPI
EndJack ClancyMichiganAP, UPI
TackleJack CalcaterraPurdueAP, UPI
TackleJerry WestMichigan StateAP, UPI
GuardChuck ErlenbaughPurdueAP
GuardTom SchuetteIndianaAP
GuardDonald BaileyMichiganUPI
GuardAnthony ContiMichigan StateUPI
CenterRay PryorOhio StateAP, UPI

Defense

PositionNameTeamSelectors
Defensive endBubba SmithMichigan StateAP, UPI
Defensive endKen KmiecIllinoisAP
Defensive endGeorge OlionPurdueUPI
Defensive tackleLance OlssenPurdueAP, UPI
Defensive tackleNick JordanMichigan StateAP
Defensive tackleRichard HimesOhio StateUPI
Defensive guardChuck KylePurdueUPI
LinebackerFrank NunleyMichiganAP, UPI
LinebackerChuck ThornhillMichigan StateAP, UPI
LinebackerGeorge WebsterMichigan StateAP [def. back], UPI
LinebackerBob RichterWisconsinAP
Defensive backBruce SullivanIllinoisAP, UPI
Defensive backRich VolkMichiganAP, UPI
Defensive backPhil ClarkNorthwesternAP
Defensive backJess PhilipsMichigan StateUPI [safety]

All-American honors

At the end of the 1966 season, four Big Ten players secured consensus first-team honors on the 1966 College Football All-America Team.[3] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:

PositionNameTeamSelectors
Offensive endJack ClancyMichiganAFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA [split end], UPI, Time, TSN, WCFF
Running backClinton JonesMichigan StateAP, CP, NEA, Time, TSN, WCFF
Defensive endBubba SmithMichigan StateAFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, Time, TSN, WCFF
Defensive backGeorge WebsterMichigan StateAFCA, AP, CP [linebacker], FWAA, NEA [linebacker], UPI, Time, TSN, WCFF

Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:

PositionNameTeamSelectors
Offensive endGene WashingtonMichigan StateAFCA, UPI, Time, TSN
Offensive endJim BeirnePurdueCP
Offensive tackleJerry WestMichigan StateNEA
CenterRay PryorOhio StateFWAA
QuarterbackBob GriesePurdueAFCA [tie]
Defensive backRick VolkMichiganTime, TSN
Defensive backJohn CharlesPurdueTime, TSN

Other awards

Purdue quarterback Bob Griese received the Sammy Baugh Trophy as the nation's top collegiate passer. He also finished second in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.[4]

1967 NFL/AFL Draft

The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1967 NFL/AFL Draft:[5]

NamePositionTeamRoundOverall pick
Bubba SmithDefensive tackleMichigan State11
Clinton JonesRunning backMichigan State12
Bob GrieseQuarterbackPurdue14
George WebsterLinebackerMichigan State15
Gene WashingtonFlankerMichigan State18
Cas BanaszekTight endNorthwestern111
Jim DetwilerRunning backMichigan120
John CharlesDefensive backPurdue121
Rick VolkDefensive backMichigan245
Mike CurrentTackleOhio State358
Frank NunleyLinebackerMichigan362
Phil ClarkDefensive backNorthwestern376
John RowserDefensive backMichigan378
Carl WardRunning backMichigan483

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1966 Big Ten Conference Year Summary. Sports Reference LLC. SR/College Football. January 31, 2017.
  2. News: Vote Griese Big Ten's Most Valuable: 1st Boilermaker To Be Awarded Silver Football. Chicago Tribune. December 26, 1966. 3–1.
  3. Web site: 2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. January 31, 2017. 5–6. December 22, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141222163944/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2014/Awards.pdf. dead.
  4. Web site: 1966 Heisman Trophy Voting. Sports Reference LLC. SR/College Football. January 26, 2017.
  5. Web site: 1967 NFL Draft: Full Draft. National Football League. NFL.com. January 26, 2017. February 1, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190201013421/http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?season=1967. dead.

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