American college football season
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]
Date Opponent Site Result Attendance Source September 15 No. 5 Michigan L 7–3152,105 September 22 at No. 18 UCLA * L 18–5534,456 September 29 at No. 6 Penn State * L 8–2759,980 October 6 Arizona * Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA L 20–2340,365 [ 2] October 13 at Northwestern L 15–3125,194 October 20 Minnesota Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry ) L 23–3155,137 October 27 at Illinois L 0–5048,864 November 3 Purdue Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA L 23–4839,120 November 10 at Wisconsin L 7–3555,560 November 17 at No. 1 Ohio State L 13–5587,447 November 24 Michigan State Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA L 6–1531,119 *Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[ 3]
No. 5 Michigan at Iowa 1 2 3 4 Total • No. 5 Wolverines 10 7 7 7 31 Hawkeyes 0 7 0 0 7
Date: September 15, 1973Location: Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 52,105Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C), Cloudy, Wind W 5 mph (8.0 km/h) Scoring summary 1 12:50 Mich Lantry 39-yard field goal Mich 3–0 6:53 Mich Heater 1-yard run (Lantry kick) Mich 10–0 2 9:28 Iowa Earl Douthitt 47-yard interception return (Kokolus kick) Mich 10–7 3:51 Mich Thornbladh 3-yard run (Lantry kick) Mich 17–7 3 9:33 Mich Chapman 12-yard run (Lantry kick) Mich 24–7 4 7:38 Mich Franklin 11-yard run (Lantry kick) Mich 31–7
[ 4]
Iowa at No. 18 UCLA 1 2 3 4 Total Hawkeyes 10 0 0 8 18 • No. 18 Bruins 3 21 10 21 55
Scoring summary 1 UCLA Herrera 24-yard field goal UCLA 3–0 Iowa Kokolus 45-yard field goal Tied 3–3 Iowa Rollins 11-yard pass from Skogman (Kokolus kick) Iowa 10–3 2 UCLA James McAlister 1-yard run (Herrera kick) Tied 10–10 UCLA Harmon 1-yard run (Herrera kick) UCLA 17–10 UCLA John Sciarra 2-yard run (Herrera kick) UCLA 24–10 3 UCLA Johnson 9-yard run (Herrera kick) UCLA 31–10 UCLA Herrera 44-yard field goal UCLA 34–10 4 UCLA Tyler 4-yard run (Lantry kick) UCLA 41–10 Iowa Skogman 5-yard run (Jenson pass from Skogman) UCLA 41–18 UCLA Raymond Burks 46-yard pass from John Sciarra (Herrera kick) UCLA 48–18 UCLA John Sciarra 7-yard run (Herrera kick) UCLA 55–18
[ 5]
at No. 6 Penn State [ edit ] Iowa at No. 6 Penn State 1 2 3 4 Total Hawkeyes 0 0 0 8 8 • No. 6 Nittany Lions 21 0 6 0 27
Scoring summary 1 11:36 PSU Cappelletti 16-yard run (Bahr kick) Penn State 7–0 5:20 PSU Herd 9-yard pass from Shuman (Bahr kick) Penn State 14–0 3:08 PSU Bland 32-yard pass from Shuman (Bahr kick) Penn State 21–0 3 PSU Herd 12-yard pass from Shuman (Bahr kick failed) Penn State 27–0 4 Iowa Jensen 7-yard pass from Caldwell (Caldwell run) Penn State 27–8
[ 6]
Arizona at Iowa 1 2 3 4 Total • Wildcats 7 3 10 3 23 Hawkeyes 7 3 3 7 20
Date: October 6, 1973Location: Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 40,365Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C), Cloudy, Wind S 10 mph (16 km/h) Scoring summary 1 Iowa Jensen 1-yard run (Kokolus kick) Iowa 7–0 Ariz Hamilton 20-yard run (Gorham kick) Tied 7–7 2 Iowa Gorham 33-yard field goal Ariz 10–7 Iowa Kokolus 41-yard field goal Tied 10–10 3 10:32 Ariz Upchurch 7-yard run (Gorham kick) Ariz 17–10 6:44 Iowa Kokolus 20-yard field goal Ariz 17–13 0:34 Ariz Gorham 28-yard field goal Ariz 20–13 4 12:54 Iowa Butch Caldwell 39-yard run (Kokolus kick) Tied 20–20 2:09 Ariz Gorham 23-yard field goal Ariz 23–20
[ 7]
Iowa at Northwestern 1 2 3 4 Total Hawkeyes 0 6 7 2 15 • Wildcats 14 10 7 0 31
Scoring summary 1 9:19 NW Jim Trimble 1-yard run (Blazevich kick) NW 7–0 7:51 NW Boykin 12-yard run (Blazevich kick) NW 14–0 2 14:57 NW Blazevich 21-yard field goal NW 17–0 10:16 NW Key 3-yard run (Blazevich kick) NW 24–0 5:41 Iowa Jensen 1-yard run (pass failed) NW 24–6 3 8:56 Iowa Schultz 35-yard pass from Skogman (Kokolus kick) NW 24–13 0:28 NW McNamara 29-yard pass from Anderson (Blazevich kick) NW 31–13 4 7:26 Iowa Safety, punt snap out of end zone NW 31–15
[ 8]
Minnesota at Iowa 1 2 3 4 Total • Golden Gophers 6 16 2 7 31 Hawkeyes 14 3 6 0 23
Date: October 20, 1973Location: Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 55,137Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C), Clear, Wind SE 5–7 mph (8.0–11.3 km/h)
[ 9]
Iowa at Illinois 1 2 3 4 Total Hawkeyes 0 0 0 0 0 • Fighting Illini 6 13 3 28 50
[ 10]
Purdue at Iowa 1 2 3 4 Total • Boilermakers 14 14 14 6 48 Hawkeyes 7 0 0 16 23
Date: November 3, 1973Location: Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 39,120Game weather: 47 °F (8 °C), Cloudy, Wind N 10 mph (16 km/h)
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.[ 11]
Iowa at Wisconsin 1 2 3 4 Total Hawkeyes 0 0 7 0 7 • Badgers 21 7 0 7 35
Scoring summary 1 13:45 Wisc Marek 45-yard run (Lamia kick) Wisconsin 7–0 10:20 Wisc Marek 5-yard run (kick blocked) Wisconsin 13–0 0:18 Wisc Marek 32-yard run (Bohlig run) Wisconsin 21–0 2 2:09 Wisc Rhodes 31-yard pass from Bohlig (Lamia kick) Wisconsin 28–0 3 9:47 Iowa Fetter 6-yard run (Kokolus kick) Wisconsin 28–7 4 5:20 Wisc Marek 1-yard run (Lamia kick) Wisconsin 35–7
Wisconsin sophomore Billy Marek ran for 203 yards and 4 touchdowns.
at No. 1 Ohio State [ edit ] Iowa at No. 1 Ohio State 1 2 3 4 Total Hawkeyes 0 0 0 13 13 • No. 1 Buckeyes 14 13 21 7 55
Scoring summary 1 10:21 OSU Bruce Elia 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick)Ohio State 7–0 4:30 OSU Elia 1-yard run (Conway kick) Ohio State 14–0 2 2:27 OSU Cornelius Greene 1-yard run (kick failed)Ohio State 20–0 0:07 OSU Dave Hazel 41-yard run pass from Cornelius Greene (Conway kick) Ohio State 27–0 3 7:38 OSU Elia 3-yard run (Conway kick) Ohio State 34–0 2:49 OSU Archie Griffin 8-yard run (Conway kick)Ohio State 41–0 0:34 OSU Elia 3-yard run (Conway kick) Ohio State 48–0 4 14:48 Iowa Bill Schultz 78-yard pass from Butch Caldwell (Kokolus kick) Ohio State 48–7 8:22 Iowa Rod Wellington 2-yard run (pass failed) Ohio State 48–13 6:44 OSU Elmer Lippert 12-yard run (Tom Klaban kick) Ohio State 55–13
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.[ 12]
Michigan State at Iowa 1 2 3 4 Total • Spartans 0 2 10 3 15 Hawkeyes 0 0 0 6 6
Date: November 24, 1973Location: Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 31,119Game weather: 48 °F (9 °C), Cloudy, Wind NW 6–12 mph (9.7–19.3 km/h)
1973 Iowa Hawkeyes football team roster Players Coaches Offense Defense Special teams Pos. # Name Class P Joe Heppner K 3 Harry Kokolus
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt
Team players in the 1974 NFL draft [ edit ] [ 13]
^ "Iowa football team of 50 years ago went winless, yet had plenty of winners" . The Gazette . August 27, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023 . ^ "Iowa loses again" . Chicago Tribune . October 7, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com . ^ "1973-74 Football Schedule" . University of Iowa Athletics . Retrieved September 4, 2023 . ^ "Mighty Michigan 'grounds' Hawkeyes, 31-7" (PDF) . Daily Iowan . September 17, 1973. p. 10. Retrieved September 4, 2023 . ^ "Explosive UCLA rips Hawkeyes 55-18" (PDF) . Daily Iowan . September 24, 1973. p. 10. Retrieved September 4, 2023 . ^ "Silver lining in Hawkeye defeat" (PDF) . Daily Iowan . October 1, 1973. p. 10. Retrieved September 4, 2023 . ^ "Late field goal topples Hawkeyes, 23-20" (PDF) . Daily Iowan . October 8, 1973. p. 12. Retrieved September 4, 2023 . ^ "Hapless Hawkeyes hit bottom" (PDF) . Daily Iowan . October 15, 1973. p. 12. Retrieved September 4, 2023 . ^ "Hawks bow to Gophers; FXL rakes negative views" (PDF) . Daily Iowan . October 22, 1973. p. 12. Retrieved September 4, 2023 . ^ "Illinois deals Hawks seventh loss, 50-0" (PDF) . Daily Iowan . October 29, 1973. p. 16. Retrieved September 4, 2023 . ^ "Purdue's Northington blitzes Hawks, 48-23" (PDF) . Daily Iowan . November 5, 1973. p. 12. Retrieved September 4, 2023 . ^ "Awesome Buckeyes thrash Iowa, 55-13" (PDF) . Daily Iowan . November 19, 1973. p. 14. Retrieved September 4, 2023 . ^ "1974 NFL Draft Listing" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved September 4, 2023 .
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