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 in 1978 (I-A and I-AA) and renamed in 2006 into today's Division I FBS and FCS). Schools in the former "College Division" were classified into Division II, which allowed fewer

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

s 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 Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed on ...

on New Year's Eve. The New Orleans game matched two unbeaten teams, the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a m ...

ranked No. 1 by AP and UPI, and the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

ranked No. 3 by AP and No. 4 by UPI. While both wire services ranked Alabama first at the end of the regular season, the final AP poll was after the bowl games. By agreement with the American Football Coaches' Association, however, UPI bestowed its championship before the postseason bowl games, and Alabama was crowned champion by UPI on December 4. UPI ranked Notre Dame fourth: one coach had given the Irish a first place vote, compared to 21 for Alabama. (In the next season, the final coaches' poll was after the bowls.) 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 major college football teams that would become Division I-A in 1978. 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 The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

(AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the ...

) (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, the defending champion

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

were ranked first by 55 of the 63 voters, followed by

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

and

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. *September 8: No. 4 Nebraska, led by new head coach Tom Osborne, beat No. 10

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

40–13, but most other teams had not yet opened the season. The next poll featured No. 1 USC, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Texas, and No. 5 Michigan. *September 15: No. 1 USC beat

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...

17–0. No. 2 Nebraska and No. 4 Texas were idle. No. 3

beat Minnesota 56–7 and No. 5 Michigan beat

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

31–7. No. 6

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

, which beat

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

66–0 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, rose up in the next poll: No. 1 USC, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Alabama, and No. 5 Michigan. *September 22: No. 1 USC beat Georgia Tech at Atlanta 23–6, and No. 2 Nebraska beat No. 14 North Carolina State 31–14. No. 3 Ohio State was idle. No. 4 Alabama won at

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

28–14, while No. 5 Michigan beat Stanford 47–10. The next poll featured No. 1 USC, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 Alabama. *September 29: No. 1 USC was tied by No. 8 Oklahoma, helmed by new coach

Barry Switzer Barry Layne Switzer (born October 5, 1937) is a former American football coach and player. He served for 16 years as head football coach at the University of Oklahoma and four years as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Footbal ...

, 7–7. No. 2 Nebraska beat

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

20–16. No. 3 Ohio State beat TCU 37–3. No. 4 Michigan beat

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

14–0. No. 5 Alabama won at Vanderbilt, 44–0. In the next poll, the Buckeyes rose to first place: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 USC, and No. 5 Michigan.

October

*October 6: No. 1

beat Washington State 27–3. No. 2

won at Minnesota 48–7. No. 3

beat Georgia at home, 28–14. No. 4 USC won at Oregon State, 21–7. No. 5

beat Oregon 24–0. The top five remained the same. *October 13: No. 1 Ohio State won at Wisconsin 24–0. No. 2 Nebraska lost at No. 12

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

13–12. No. 3 Alabama won at Florida 35–14. No. 4 USC beat Washington State 46–35, but fell out of the top five. No. 5 Michigan won at Michigan State, 31–0. No. 6 Oklahoma beat No. 13

52–13 in Dallas. No. 7

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High ...

beat visiting Army, 54–3. The next poll featured No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 Penn State. *October 20: No. 1 Ohio State won at Indiana 37–7. No. 2 Alabama beat No. 10

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

at Birmingham, 42–21. No. 3 Oklahoma beat No. 16

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

34–7. No. 4 Michigan beat Wisconsin 35–6. No. 5 Penn State won at Syracuse 49–6. The top five remained unchanged. *October 27: No. 1 Ohio State beat Northwestern 60–0. No. 2 Alabama crushed Virginia Tech at home, 77–6. No. 3 Oklahoma won at Kansas State 56–14. No. 4 Michigan won at Minnesota 31–0. No. 5 Penn State crushed West Virginia 62–14 but still fell out of the top five when No. 8

Notre Dame Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...

won 23–14 over No. 6 USC. The next poll featured No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 Notre Dame.

November

*November 3: No. 1

won at Illinois 30–0. No. 2

beat Mississippi State in Jackson, 35–0. No. 3 Oklahoma beat Iowa State 34–17. No. 4

beat Indiana 49–13. No. 5

beat Navy 44–7. The top five remained the same. *November 10: No. 1 Ohio State recorded its third shutout, a 35–0 win over visiting Michigan State. No. 2 Alabama was idle. No. 3 Oklahoma won at No. 10

31–3. No. 4 Michigan beat Illinois 21–6. No. 5 Notre Dame won at No. 20

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

31–10. The top five again remained the same. *November 17: No. 1 Ohio State beat Iowa 55–13. No. 2 Alabama beat Miami (Florida) at home, 43–13. No. 3 Oklahoma beat No. 18

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

48–20. No. 4 Michigan won at Purdue, 34–9. No. 5 Notre Dame was idle. Once again, the top five remained the same. *November 22-24: On Thanksgiving Day, a pair of unbeaten teams played for the SEC title, with No. 2 Alabama beating No. 7 LSU 21–7. Meanwhile, No. 5 Notre Dame beat Air Force 48–15. The next day, No. 3 Oklahoma beat No. 10

27–0 to clinch the Big 8 championship. The big matchup was on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where No. 1 Ohio State (9–0) and No. 4 Michigan (10–0) continued " The Ten Year War" with a game for the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl bid. The two teams played to a 10–10 tie. The next day,

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conferen ...

athletic directors voted to send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl against No. 9 USC (which had just beaten No. 8

23−13 to win the Pac-8 championship), due in large part to the broken

clavicle The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the rig ...

suffered by Michigan quarterback

Dennis Franklin Dennis E. Franklin (born August 24, 1953) is a former professional American football player who was drafted by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) in the 1975 NFL Draft. Prior to playing for the NFL he played college footbal ...

in the game. Alabama, still unbeaten and untied, took over the top spot in the next poll: No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 Notre Dame.

December

*December 1: No. 1

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 record. No. 2 Oklahoma won at Oklahoma State 45–18 to finish 10–0–1. No. 3

and No. 4

had already finished their season, tied against each other but undefeated against all other opponents. No. 5

won at Miami (Florida) 44–0, ending the regular season at 10−0. *Elsewhere, Bluebonnet Bowl-bound Tulane defeated No. 8 LSU 14–0 to end a 25–year winless drought in the

Battle for the Rag The Battle for the Rag is the name given to the LSU–Tulane football rivalry. It is an American college football rivalry game played by the LSU Tigers football team of Louisiana State University and the Tulane Green Wave football team of Tul ...

in the final meeting at

Tulane Stadium Tulane Stadium was an outdoor football stadium that stood in New Orleans from 1926 to 1980. It was officially the Third Tulane Stadium and replaced the "Second Tulane Stadium", which was located where the Telephone Exchange Building is now. T ...

, leaving both the Green Wave and Bayou Bengals 9–2. Also, the 4–7 Navy Midshipmen trounced the Army Cadets 51–0. The Cadets completed one of their worst season in their football program history, with an imperfect 0–10 record. In the final regular season poll, the top six schools were unbeaten: No. 1 Alabama (11–0), No. 2 Oklahoma (10–0–1), No. 3 Notre Dame (10–0), No. 4 Ohio State (9–0–1), No. 5 Michigan (10–0–1), and No. 6

(11–0). The other major college unbeaten, Miami (Ohio) (10–0), was No. 15. Alabama and Notre Dame accepted invitations to play in the

for the national championship. Oklahoma was on probation for having used an ineligible player (Kerry Jackson) in three 1972 games and was ineligible to play in a bowl game; therefore, the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...

featured independent Penn State and SEC runner-up LSU (No. 13 in the final poll) rather than a Big 8 team. Because Big Ten rules allowed only one team to participate in postseason play, Michigan was forced to stay home while Ohio State matched up against No. 7 USC in the Rose Bowl. No. 11 Texas Tech had an impressive 10−1 record, but an early-season loss to

cost the Red Raiders the SWC championship and the conference's automatic Cotton Bowl bid. The eighth-ranked Longhorns struggled in non-conference play but blew through their SWC opponents for their sixth straight title, with an incredible 40−2 conference record since 1968. They would play the Big 8 runner-up, No. 12

, in the Cotton 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 was rescinded in the 1974 season. *The

fair catch A fair catch is a feature of American football and several other codes of football, in which a player attempting to catch a ball kicked by the opposing team – either on a kickoff or punt – is entitled to catch the ball without interference f ...

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

Bowl games

Major bowls

''Monday, December 31, 1973''
''Tuesday, January 1, 1974''

and

had never met in a college football game before their encounter in the

, which was played on New Year's Eve at

, with kickoff at 7:15 pm CST. Two legendary coaches,

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

and

Ara Parseghian Ara Raoul Parseghian (; hy, Արա Ռաուլ Պարսեղյան; May 21, 1923 – August 2, 2017) was an American football player and coach who guided the University of Notre Dame to national championships in 1966 and 1973. He is noted for b ...

brought their teams to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

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 Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd (11 June 19193 December 2009) was an Irish-British actor known for his leading man roles of the 1950s. He received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, and an Academy Award for Best Actor ...

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 No. 1, Coach Parseghian replied, "Certainly. What was the final score?""Notre Dame lays claim to No. 1 rating," ''Tucson Daily Citizen'', Jan. 1, 1974, p34 The final AP writers' poll was split. Notre Dame received a majority of the first place votes, 33 out of 60, followed by No. 2 Ohio State (11 votes) and No. 3 Oklahoma (16 votes, but fewer points overall). The fourth 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

* Prior to the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

season, the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

and

Pac-8 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

conferences allowed only one postseason participant each, for the Rose Bowl.

Heisman Trophy

Running back John Cappelletti had the third best year in

history when he gained 1,117 yards rushing in 1972. As a senior in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

, he had the second best year in school 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. Cappelletti's acceptance speech on December 13 at the Heisman Dinner (with new

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is o ...

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

next to him on the dais) was considered the most moving ever given at these ceremonies, as he honored his 11-year-old brother Joey, a victim # John Cappelletti, RB -

, 1,057 votes #

John Hicks Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economic ...

, OT -

, 524 #

Roosevelt Leaks Roosevelt Leaks Jr. (born January 31, 1953) is a former All-American running back and 2005 inductee to the College Football Hall of Fame. He was the first black All-American player in University of Texas history and went on to play in the N ...

, RB -

, 483 # David Jaynes, QB -

, 394 # Archie Griffin, RB - Ohio State, 326 # Randy Gradishar, LB - Ohio State, 282 # Lucious Selmon, NG - Oklahoma, 250 #

Woody Green Woodrow Green, Jr. (born June 20, 1951) is a former American football running back who played for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Green was drafted by the Chiefs in the first round of the 1974 NFL Draft. He is an al ...

, RB - Arizona State, 247 # Danny White, QB - Arizona State, 166 # Kermit Johnson, RB -

, 122 # Tony Dorsett, RB -

, 118 #

Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He served on the ...

, SE - USC, 108 # Anthony Davis, RB - USC, 104 # Condredge Holloway, QB -

, 98 * Leaks, Davis, and Holloway were juniors, Griffin a sophomore, Dorsett a freshman Source:

References

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