Sports season
The 1967 Big Ten Conference football season was the 72nd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1967 NCAA University Division football season .
The season resulted in a three-way tie for the conference championship, as Indiana , Purdue , and Minnesota each finished with a conference record of 6–1. Each team was 1–1 against the others; as Indiana defeated Purdue, Purdue defeated Minnesota, and Minnesota defeated Indiana. As of 2022, this was the last conference championship for both Indiana and Minnesota. Purdue has won one conference title since then, in 2000 .
The 1967 Indiana Hoosiers football team , under head coach John Pont , was ranked No. 4 in the final AP Poll . The Hoosiers lost to USC in the 1968 Rose Bowl . Quarterback Harry Gonso was selected as the team's most valuable player.
The 1967 Purdue Boilermakers football team , under head coach Jack Mollenkopf , was ranked No. 9 in the final AP Poll. Purdue running back Leroy Keyes led the conference with 114 points scored, was a consensus first-team All-American, won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the most valuable player in the conference, and finished third in the voting for the 1968 Heisman Trophy .
The 1967 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team , under head coach Murray Warmath , was unranked in the final AP Poll (which ranked only ten teams at the time), but was 14th in the final Coaches Poll . Offensive tackle John Williams was the first Big Ten player selected in the 1968 NFL/AFL Draft with the 23rd overall pick.
Due to Big Ten's "no-repeat" policy barring teams from making consecutive Rose Bowl appearances, Purdue was ineligible. The next tiebreaker was the team which had gone the longest since last playing in Pasadena. Since Indiana had never been, and Minnesota appeared following the 1960 and '61 seasons, the Hoosiers got the nod despite their loss to the Gophers.
Season overview
Results and team statistics
Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1967 season[ 1]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1967 season[ 1]
PPG = Average of points scored per game[ 1]
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]
Preseason
Regular season
Bowl games
Post-season developments
Statistical leaders
The Big Ten's individual statistical leaders for the 1967 season include the following:[ 1]
Passing yards
Rank
Name
Team
Yards[ 1]
1
Mike Phipps
Purdue
1,800
2
Bill Melzer
Northwestern
1,146
3
Ed Podolak
Iowa
1,014
4
Dean Volkman
Illinois
1,005
5
John Boyajian
Wisconsin
966
Rushing yards
Rank
Name
Team
Yards[ 1]
1
Ron Johnson
Michigan
1,005
2
Leroy Keyes
Purdue
986
3
Rich Johnson
Illinois
768
4
Perry Williams
Purdue
746
5
Silas McKinnie
Iowa
588
Receiving yards
Rank
Name
Team
Yards[ 1]
1
Leroy Keyes
Purdue
758
2
Al Bream
Iowa
703
3
John Wright
Illinois
698
4
Jim Beirne
Purdue
643
5
Jim Berline
Michigan
624
Total yards
Rank
Name
Team
Yards[ 1]
1
Mike Phipps
Purdue
2,020
2
Harry Gonso
Indiana
1,443
3
Ed Podolak
Iowa
1,337
4
Dennis Brown
Michigan
1,286
5
Bill Melzer
Northwestern
1,205
Scoring
Rank
Name
Team
Points[ 1]
1
Leroy Keyes
Purdue
114
2
Perry Williams
Purdue
66
3
Jade Butcher
Indiana
60
4
Curt Wilson
Minnesota
48
5
Ron Johnson
Michigan
42
5
Chico Kurzawski
Northwestern
42
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 1967 All-Big Ten Conference football team .
Offense
Position
Name
Team
Selectors
Quarterback
Mike Phipps
Purdue
AP
Quarterback
Harry Gonso
Indiana
UPI
Running back
Leroy Keyes
Purdue
AP, UPI
Running back
Ron Johnson
Michigan
AP, UPI
Running back
Perry Williams
Purdue
AP, UPI [fullback]
Offensive end
Jim Beirne
Purdue
AP, UPI
Offensive end
John Wright
Illinois
AP
Offensive end
Billy Anders
Ohio State
UPI
Offensive tackle
John Williams
Minnesota
AP, UPI
Offensive tackle
Dick Himes
Ohio State
AP, UPI
Offensive guard
Bruce Gunstra
Northwestern
AP, UPI
Offensive guard
Gary Cassells
Indiana
AP, UPI
Center
Joe Dayton
Michigan
AP, UPI
Defense
Position
Name
Team
Selectors
Defensive end
Bob Stein
Minnesota
AP, UPI
Defensive end
George Olion
Purdue
UPI
Defensive end
George Chatlos
Michigan State
AP
Defensive tackle
McKinley Boston
Minnesota
AP, UPI
Defensive tackle
Lance Olssen
Purdue
UPI
Defensive tackle
Tom Domres
Wisconsin
AP
Middle guard
Chuck Kyle
Purdue
AP, UPI
Linebacker
Ken Criter
Wisconsin
AP, UPI
Linebacker
Dick Marvel
Purdue
UPI
Linebacker
Ken Kaczmarek
Indiana
AP
Linebacker
Jim Sniadecki
Indiana
AP
Linebacker
Tom Stincic
Michigan
UPI
Defensive back
Ron Bess
Illinois
AP, UPI
Defensive back
Tom Garretson
Northwestern
AP, UPI [safety]
Defensive back
Tom Sakal
Minnesota
AP, UPI
All-American honors
At the end of the 1967 season, only one Big Ten player secured consensus first-team honors on the 1967 College Football All-America Team .[ 3] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans was:
Position
Name
Team
Selectors
Running back
Leroy Keyes
Purdue
AFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, WC, Time, TSN
Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:
Position
Name
Team
Selectors
Offensive tackle
John Williams
Minnesota
Time
Offensive guard
Gary Cassells
Indiana
AP, FWAA, WCFF
Defensive end
Bob Stein
Minnesota
FWAA, NEA, WC
Other awards
The 1967 Heisman Trophy was awarded to Gary Beban of UCLA. Purdue running back Leroy Keyes finished third in the voting.[ 4]
1968 NFL/AFL Draft
The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1968 NFL/AFL Draft :[ 5]
References
Current teams Championships & awards Seasons