1967 Wayne Tartars football
ConferenceIndependent
Record6–2
Head coach
CaptainDave Krupski, A. J. Vaughn
Home stadiumTartar Field
Seasons
← 1966
1968 →
1967 NCAA College Division independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Ashland   –   8 – 0 – 1
Northern Michigan   –   9 – 1 – 0
Indiana (PA)   –   8 – 1 – 0
Santa Clara   –   8 – 1 – 0
Northeastern   –   7 – 1 – 0
Samford   –   8 – 2 – 1
Wayne State (MI)   –   6 – 2 – 0
Chattanooga   –   7 – 3 – 0
Eastern Michigan   –   6 – 3 – 0
Tennessee A&I   –   6 – 3 – 0
Parsons   –   6 – 3 – 1
Kentucky State   –   5 – 3 – 1
Hawaii   –   6 – 4 – 0
St. Norbert   –   5 – 4 – 0
Akron   –   4 – 4 – 1
Carnegie Mellon   –   4 – 4 – 0
Cortland   –   4 – 4 – 0
Northern Arizona   –   5 – 5 – 0
Northern Illinois   –   5 – 5 – 0
UC Riverside   –   4 – 4 – 1
UC Santa Barbara   –   5 – 5 – 0
Drake   –   4 – 5 – 0
Pacific (CA)   –   4 – 5 – 0
Portland State   –   4 – 6 – 0
Lincoln (MO)   –   3 – 5 – 0
Boston University   –   3 – 6 – 0
Lake Forest   –   3 – 6 – 0
Milwaukee   –   3 – 6 – 0
Mississippi Valley State   –   3 – 6 – 0
Southern Illinois   –   3 – 7 – 0
Colorado College   –   2 – 5 – 1
Rose Poly   –   1 – 6 – 2
Tampa   –   2 – 7 – 0
Wabash   –   2 – 7 – 0
Cal Poly Pomona   –   2 – 8 – 0

The 1967 Wayne State Tartars football team represented Wayne State University as an independent during the 1967 NCAA College Division football season. The team compiled a 7–2 record, averaged 376.1 yard of total offense per game, and scored 275 points and 40 touchdowns, each of which was a school record at the time.[1] Vernon Gale was in his third year as the team's head coach.[2] The team's tallies of 48 points against Michigan Tech and 49 points against Western Reserve were the highest point totals by a Wayne football team since 1951.[3][4]

The team began the season with seven consecutive victories. In the sixth victory against Eastern Michigan, a capacity crowd was drawn to Tartar Field, leading Detroit Free Press columnist Joe Falls to write: "They were standing on rooftops, fence tops, car tops and tree tops – anything that would hold them. They jammed into those rickety old porches along Hobart Street and they climbed telephone poles and held on for dear life. . . . This was backyard football at its best – maybe the finest moment in the history of Wayne State University."[5]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback A. J. "Apple Juice" Vaughn with 1,090 passing yards and 776 rushing yards and Paul Hay with 253 receiving yards.[6][7] Vaughn set school records (since broken) with 17 touchdown passes, 207.3 yards of total offense per game, 1,882 yards of total offense, and a 142.01 passing efficiency rating.[8] In Wayne's victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Vaughn set a national NCAA College Division record with 555 yards of total offense (271 rushing yards on 26 carries and 284 passing yards with 11 completions on 21 passes).[7][9] At the end of the 1967 season, the Detroit Free Press joked that "the Wayne State crew turned out more records in the past nine weeks than Motown, let alone the RCA victors."[7]

The 1967 season was the last year in which Wayne State played its home games at Tartar Field. WSU Stadium opened in 1968.[10]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 23Michigan Tech
W 48–7[3]
September 30at Milwaukee Milwaukee, WIW 39–31[9]
October 7Chicago Circle
  • Tartar Field
  • Detroit, MI
W 31–61,329[11]
October 14Ferris State
  • Tartar Field
  • Detroit, MI
W 27–13[12]
October 21at Western ReserveCleveland, OHW 49–20[4]
October 28Eastern Michigan
  • Tartar Field
  • Detroit, MI
W 20–34,500[13]
November 4at Case TechCleveland, OHW 47–18[14]
November 11at Eastern Illinois
L 14–20[15]
November 18Central Michigandagger
  • Tartar Field
  • Detroit, MI
L 0–343,000–5,000 [7][16][17]
  • daggerHomecoming

[18]

Players

The following players were awarded letters for their participation on Wayne State's 1967 football team:[19]

References

  1. ^ "2016 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Wayne State University. p. 105. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  2. ^ 2016 Media Guide, p. 115.
  3. ^ a b "Tartars Bomb Huskies, 48-7". Detroit Free Press. September 24, 1967. p. 5C – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Hal Schram (October 22, 1967). "Wayne Wallops Reserve for No. 5". Detroit Free Press. p. 1C, 2C – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Joe Falls (October 29, 1967). "Tartars Score Big Plus for Football". Detroit Free Press. p. 2C – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ 2016 Media Guide, p. 109.
  7. ^ a b c d Morris Moorawnick (November 21, 1967). "Tartars Have Sour Ending But Future Looks Bright". Detroit Free Press. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ 2016 Media Guide, p. 103.
  9. ^ a b "Wayne State Wins". Port Huron Times Herald. October 2, 1967. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ 2016 Media Guide, p. 117.
  11. ^ "Vaughn On As Tartars Win No. 3". Detroit Free Press. October 8, 1967. p. 8D – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Unbeaten Tartars Win No. 4". Detroit Free Press. October 15, 1967. p. 4C – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Hal Schram. "3 Long TDs Win for Tartars, 20-3". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 4C – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Hal Schram (November 5, 1967). "Wayne Wins 7th Straight". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 2C – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ George Cantor (November 12, 1967). "One-Handed Catch Decides Duel: E. Illinois Wrecks Wayne's Streak, 20-14". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 20C – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "CMU Rips Wayne In 34-0 Rout". The News-Palladium. November 20, 1967. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  18. ^ "Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  19. ^ 2016 Media Guide, pp. 118-121.
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