The 1973 NCAA Division I football season was the first for the NCAA's current three-division structure. Effective with the 1973–74 academic year, schools formerly in the NCAA "University Division" were classified as Division I (later subdivided for football only into today's Division I FBS and Division I FCS). Schools in the former "College Division" were classified into Division II, which allowed fewer athletic scholarships than Division I, and Division III, in which athletic scholarships were prohibited.
In its inaugural season, Division I had two NCAA-recognized national champions, and they faced each other at year's end in the Sugar Bowl. The New Orleans game matched two unbeaten teams, the Alabama Crimson Tide (11-0), ranked #1 by AP and UPI, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10–0), ranked #3 by AP and #4 by UPI.
While both wire services ranked Alabama #1 at the end of the regular season, AP took another poll after the bowl games. By agreement with the American Football Coaches' Association, however, UPI bestowed its championship before the postseason bowl games. Thus, Alabama was crowned champion by UPI on December 4, 1973.[3] UPI ranked Notre Dame #4. One coach had given the Irish a first place vote, compared to 21 for Alabama.
In a game where the lead changed six times, Notre Dame won by a single point, 24–23, to claim the AP national championship. During the 20th Century, the NCAA had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as "Division I-A". The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press (AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by United Press International) (UPI). In 1973, the UPI issued its final poll before the bowls, but the AP Trophy was withheld until the postseason was completed. The AP poll in 1973 consisted of the votes of as many as 63 sportswriters and broadcasters, though not all of them voted in every poll. UPI's voting was made by 34 coaches. Those who cast votes would give their opinion of the ten best teams. Under a point system of 20 points for first place, 19 for second, etc., the "overall" ranking was determined.
Conference and program changes
September
- In the preseason poll released on September 3, 1973, the defending champion USC Trojans were ranked first by 55 of the 63 voters, followed by #2 Ohio State, #3 Texas, #4 Nebraska and #5 Michigan.
- On September 8, #4 Nebraska beat #10 UCLA, 40–13. Most teams had not yet opened the season. The poll was: 1.USC 2.Nebraska 3.Ohio State 4.Texas 5.Michigan
- September 15: #1 USC beat Arkansas, 17-0. #2 Nebraska and #4 Texas were idle. #3 Ohio State beat Minnesota 56-7. #5 Michigan had beat Iowa 31-7. #6 Alabama, which beaten California 66–0 in Birmingham, rose to fourth, while Texas fell to sixth. Barry Switzer won his first game as Oklahoma head coach in a 42-14 rout of Baylor. The poll was: 1.USC 2.Nebraska 3.Ohio State 4.Alabama 5.Michigan.
- On September 22, #1 USC beat Georgia Tech at Atlanta, 23-6. #2 Nebraska beat #14 N.C. State 31–14. #3 Ohio State was idle. #4 Alabama won at Kentucky, 28–14. #5 Michigan beat Stanford 47–10. The next poll was: 1.USC 2.Nebraska 3.Ohio State 4. Michigan 5.Alabama
- September 29: #1 USC was tied by #8 Oklahoma, 7–7. #2 Nebraska beat Wisconsin 20–16. #3 Ohio State beat TCU 37–3. #4 Michigan beat Navy 14–0. #5 Alabama won at Vanderbilt, 44–0. In the next poll, the Buckeyes rose to first place: 1.Ohio State 2.Nebraska 3.Alabama 4.USC 5. Michigan
October
#5 Michigan won at Michigan State, 31-0. #6 Oklahoma beat #13 Texas 52-13 in Dallas #7 Penn State beat visiting Army, 54-3, to extend its record to 5-0-0 and rise to the top five. The poll: 1.Ohio State 2.Alabama 3.Oklahoma 4.Michigan 5.Penn State
November
1.Ohio State 2.Alabama 3.Oklahoma 4.Michigan 5.Notre Dame
- On Thanksgiving Day, #2 Alabama beat #7 LSU 21-7 and #5 Notre Dame beat Air Force 48-15. The next day, #3 Oklahoma beat #10 Nebraska 27-0. The big matchup was on Saturday, November 24, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where #1 Ohio State (9-0-0) and #4 Michigan (10-0-0) met. The two teams played to a 10-10 tie. Alabama, still unbeaten and untied, took over the top spot in the next poll: 1.Alabama 2.Oklahoma 3.Ohio State 4.Michigan 5.Notre Dame
December
Tulane vs LSU at Tulane Stadium, December 1
- December 1: The top six teams were unbeaten. #1 Alabama shut out Auburn in Birmingham 35-0, avenging Auburn's shocking upset in the previous year, to close the regular season with an 11-0-0 record. #2 Oklahoma won at Oklahoma State 45-18. #5 Notre Dame won at Miami (Florida) 44-0. Elsewhere, Tulane defeated LSU 14-0 to end a 25-year winless drought in the Battle for the Rag. Also, the 4-7 Navy Midshipmen trounced the Army Cadets 51-0. As for the Cadets, they completed one of their worst season in their football program history, when they completed a season with a 0-10 winless record.
In the final regular season poll, the top six schools were unbeaten. 1.Alabama (11-0) 2. 2.Notre Dame (10-0) 3.Oklahoma (10-0-1) 4.Ohio State (9-0-1) 5.Michigan (10-0-1) and 6.Penn State (11-0). The other major college unbeaten, Miami (Ohio) (10-0-0), was #15. Oklahoma, however, was on probation for having used an ineligible player in three 1972 games, and was ineligible to play in a bowl game. #1 Alabama and #2 Notre Dame accepted invitations to play in the Sugar Bowl.
Rule changes
- Each team may use its own legal ball when it is in possession.
- Free substitution is allowed, however substitutes both checking in and leaving the field of play must do so through their own team areas, and are not required to stay in or leave for one play. This change would be rescinded in the 1974 season.
- The fair catch signal is standardized as waving one arm side to side before the ball is caught. Any other signal (including shielding of the eyes) is considered invalid, and players making a fair catch with either a valid or invalid signal are protected from being tackled or blocked. Previously, receivers making an invalid signal were not afforded any protection.
- All players are required to wear a mouth guard and a fully buckled chin strap. Violators must leave the field until the violation is corrected.
- If an illegal forward pass is completed in the end zone (whether to an eligible or ineligible receiver), the ball is dead and the penalty enforced.
Conference standings
The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:
Bowl games
Major bowls
Alabama and Notre Dame had never met in a college football game before their encounter in the Sugar Bowl, which was played on December 31, 1973. Two legendary coaches, Bear Bryant and Ara Parseghian brought their teams to New Orleans, and the game was a thriller. The Irish scored first, but missed the extra point. After Alabama took a 7–6 lead, freshman Al Hunter returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, and a two-point conversion put Notre Dame up 14–7. Alabama went ahead 17–14 in the third, but a fumble on their own 12-yard line gave the Irish a chance to make it 21–17. In the fourth quarter, Bama got back the lead on a trick play, as quarterback Richard Todd handed off to running back, Mike Stock, who then fired a touchdown pass back to Todd; but Bill Davis, who had made 51 of 53 extra point attempts in his career, was wide right, and the score stayed 23–21. In the final minutes, Notre Dame's Bob Thomas (who had missed the earlier point after try) kicked a 19-yard field goal that gave the team the 24-23 win. Asked whether Notre Dame would be voted #1, Coach Parseghian replied, "Certainly. What was the final score?" [5]
The final AP writers' poll was split. Notre Dame received a majority of the first place votes, 33 out of 60, followed by #2 Ohio State (11 votes) and #3 Oklahoma (16 votes, but fewer points overall). The #4 spot (held by Notre Dame in the final UPI poll) went to Alabama. UPI, who crowned Alabama as national champion at the end of the regular season, would begin holding the coaches' poll after the bowl games beginning with the 1974 season.
Other bowls
| BOWL |
Location |
Winner |
Loser |
| SUN |
El Paso |
Missouri 34 |
Auburn 17 |
| GATOR |
Jacksonville |
Texas Tech 28 |
Tennessee 19 |
| TANGERINE |
Gainesville, Florida |
Miami (Ohio) 16 |
Florida 7 |
| ASTRO-BLUEBONNET |
Houston |
Houston 47 |
Tulane 7 |
| LIBERTY |
Memphis |
N.C. State 31 |
Kansas 18 |
| PEACH |
Atlanta |
Georgia 17 |
Maryland 16 |
| FIESTA |
Tempe |
Arizona State 28 |
Pittsburgh 7 |
Heisman Trophy
- Winner: John Cappelletti, Penn State, Sr. RB - 1,057 Votes
- John Hicks, Ohio State, Sr. OT - 524 Votes
- Roosevelt Leaks, Texas, Jr. RB - 483 Votes
- David Jaynes, Kansas, Sr. QB - 394 Votes
- Archie Griffin, Ohio State, SO. RB - 326 Votes
John Cappelletti had the third best year in Penn State history when he gained 1,117 yards rushing in 1972. In 1973, he had the second best year in Penn State history rushing for 1,522 yards. In his two-year running career, he gained 100 yards in the thirteen games and had a career total of 2,639 yards and twenty-nine touchdowns for an average of 120 yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry. John's acceptance speech at the Heisman Dinner (with Vice President Gerald Ford next to him on the dais) was considered the most moving ever given at these ceremonies, as he honored his brother Joey, a victim of leukemia.
References
