1973 Iowa Hawkeyes football team explained

Year:1973
Team:Iowa Hawkeyes
Sport:football
Conference:Big Ten Conference
Short Conf:Big Ten
Record:0–11
Conf Record:0–8
Head Coach:Frank Lauterbur
Hc Year:3rd
Off Coach:Howard Vernon
Oc Year:1st
Mvp:Brian Rollins
Captain:Dan Dickel, Brian Rollins, Roger Jerrick
Stadium:Kinnick Stadium

The 1973 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1973 Big Ten Conference football season. This was Frank Lauterbur's third and final season as head coach. The team played its home games at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.

Despite the team's winless record (0–11), this team had players that experienced significant success in their football careers. Rod Walters was a first round draft pick, Joe Devlin was a second round pick and started 179 games in the NFL, and Jim Caldwell was an assistant coach on two Super Bowl champions and reached the Super Bowl as a head coach.[1]

Schedule

[2]

Game summaries

No. 5 Michigan

See also: 1973 Michigan Wolverines football team.

[3]

at No. 18 UCLA

See also: 1973 UCLA Bruins football team.

[4]

at No. 6 Penn State

See also: 1973 Penn State Nittany Lions football team.

[5]

Arizona

See also: 1973 Arizona Wildcats football team.

[6]

at Northwestern

See also: 1973 Northwestern Wildcats football team.

[7]

Minnesota

See also: 1973 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team.

[8]

at Illinois

See also: 1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football team.

[9]

Purdue

See also: 1973 Purdue Boilermakers football team.

Purdue freshman Mike Northington ran for 146 yards and tied a Big Ten-record with five touchdowns on 31 carries. Also of note, the Boilermakers scored their final touchdown with just 39 seconds remaining, attempting a failed two-point conversion after the score.[10]

at Wisconsin

See also: 1973 Wisconsin Badgers football team.

Wisconsin sophomore Billy Marek ran for 203 yards and 4 touchdowns.

at No. 1 Ohio State

See also: 1973 Ohio State Buckeyes football team.

Ohio State sophomore Archie Griffin ran for 246 yards on 30 carries, establishing single-game and single-season school records for rushing yardage. Junior fullback Bruce Elia had 4 rushing touchdowns for the Buckeyes.[11]

Michigan State

See also: 1973 Michigan State Spartans football team.

Team players in the 1974 NFL Draft

See main article: 1974 NFL draft.

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Linebacker 7 170 Baltimore Colts
[12]

Notes and References

  1. News: Iowa football team of 50 years ago went winless, yet had plenty of winners . . August 27, 2023 . September 4, 2023.
  2. Web site: 1973-74 Football Schedule . . September 4, 2023.
  3. News: Mighty Michigan 'grounds' Hawkeyes, 31-7 . . 10 . September 17, 1973 . September 4, 2023.
  4. News: Explosive UCLA rips Hawkeyes 55-18 . . 10 . September 24, 1973 . September 4, 2023.
  5. News: Silver lining in Hawkeye defeat . . 10 . October 1, 1973 . September 4, 2023.
  6. News: Late field goal topples Hawkeyes, 23-20 . . 12 . October 8, 1973 . September 4, 2023.
  7. News: Hapless Hawkeyes hit bottom . . 12 . October 15, 1973 . September 4, 2023.
  8. News: Hawks bow to Gophers; FXL rakes negative views . . 12 . October 22, 1973 . September 4, 2023.
  9. News: Illinois deals Hawks seventh loss, 50-0 . . 16 . October 29, 1973 . September 4, 2023.
  10. News: Purdue's Northington blitzes Hawks, 48-23 . . 12 . November 5, 1973 . September 4, 2023.
  11. News: Awesome Buckeyes thrash Iowa, 55-13 . . 14 . November 19, 1973 . September 4, 2023.
  12. Web site: 1974 NFL Draft Listing . . September 4, 2023.