1973 college football season

1973 NCAA Division I football season
Preseason AP #1	USC Trojans
Regular season	September 8 – December 1, 1973
Number of bowls	11
Bowl games	December 17, 1973 – January 1, 1974
Heisman	John Cappelletti, Penn State RB
← 1972 College football seasons 1974 →

1973 ACC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#16 NC State $	6	–	0	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
#20 Maryland	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Clemson	4	–	2	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Virginia	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Duke	1	–	4	–	1			2	–	8	–	1
North Carolina	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Wake Forest	0	–	5	–	1			1	–	9	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1973 Big 8 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#3 Oklahoma $	7	–	0	–	0			10	–	0	–	1
#7 Nebraska	4	–	2	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
#18 Kansas	4	–	2	–	1			7	–	4	–	1
#17 Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Oklahoma State	2	–	3	–	2			5	–	4	–	2
Colorado	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Kansas State	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1973 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#2 Ohio State +	7	–	0	–	1			10	–	0	–	1
#6 Michigan +	7	–	0	–	1			10	–	0	–	1
Minnesota	6	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Illinois	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Michigan State	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Purdue	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Northwestern	4	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Indiana	0	–	8	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Iowa	0	–	8	–	0			0	–	11	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1973 Ivy League football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Dartmouth $	6	–	1	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Harvard	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Penn	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Yale	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Brown	4	–	3	–	0			4	–	3	–	1
Cornell	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	5	–	1
Columbia	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	7	–	1
Princeton	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1973 Mid-American Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#15/17 Miami (OH) $	5	–	0	–	0			11	–	0	–	0
Kent State	4	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Bowling Green	2	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Ohio	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Western Michigan	1	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Toledo	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll

1973 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Tulsa +	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
North Texas State +	5	–	1	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
Louisville	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
New Mexico State	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wichita State	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Drake	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
West Texas State	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1973 Pacific Coast Athletic Association football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
San Diego State $	3	–	0	–	1			9	–	1	–	1
San Jose State	2	–	0	–	2			5	–	4	–	2
Pacific (CA)	2	–	1	–	1			7	–	2	–	1
Fresno State	1	–	3	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Long Beach State	0	–	4	–	0			1	–	9	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1973 Pacific-8 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#8 USC $	7	–	0	–	0			9	–	2	–	1
#12 UCLA	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Stanford	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Washington State	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
California	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Oregon	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Oregon State	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Washington	0	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1973 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#4 Alabama $	8	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
#13 LSU	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Ole Miss	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
#19 Tennessee	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Georgia	3	–	4	–	0			7	–	4	–	1
Florida	3	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Kentucky	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Auburn	2	–	5	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Mississippi State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	5	–	2
Vanderbilt	1	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

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 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 on New Year's Eve. 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, 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 #4. 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 (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.

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