What If: The 1973 College Football Season

Posted by Admin January 20, 2025 Football

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In college football, games and legacies can be decided by a matter of inches.

Throughout much of college football history, even a single loss could derail a team’s hopes for a national championship. A tipped pass, a bad call, or an unlucky ball bounce can flip a game’s outcome in one-score games.

Inspired by the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ historic trend of losing so many close games over the last decade, I decided to dive into college football history to see how different the sport might look if the outcome of every one-score game was flipped season by season.

Welcome to What If: The 1973 College Football Season.

The 1973 college football season was memorable for many fans and historians of the sport. College athletics was divided into three divisions for the 1973 season—Divisions I, II, and III. This was the final season that the coaches poll came out before the bowl games. It featured two undefeated teams, Notre Dame and Alabama, who clashed in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship.

The Big 10 Conference had a controversial finish, as both Michigan and Ohio State finished with no losses and a tie to each other. The conference athletic directors voted 6-4 to send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl, in part due to an injury to Michigan’s starting quarterback. Michigan coach Bo Schembechler was furious and felt his team was cheated out of a chance to play for the national title.

In the Big 8, the first of many legendary games between Tom Osborne’s Nebraska Cornhuskers and Barry Switzer’s Oklahoma Sooners was played. Switzer’s Sooners got the best of the Huskers, holding Osborne’s offense to just 174 yards and keeping them off the scoreboard. With Oklahoma on probation from the Big 8, Nebraska would go on to face Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Or, as Oklahoma linebacker Rod Shoate called it, “the Losers Bowl,” as Oklahoma beat the two teams by a combined score of 79-13 in the regular season.

Unbeaten teams: Alabama (11-0), Michigan (10-0-1), Ohio State (9-0-1), Penn State (11-0), Notre Dame (10-0), Oklahoma (10-0-1), Miami OH (10-0)

Penn State’s John Cappelletti became the first running back to win the Heisman Trophy since 1968. He led the nation in rushing with 1,522 yards and scored 17 touchdowns. In his acceptance speech, he tearfully thanked his brother, Joey, for being his inspiration and motivation. Joey died in 1976 at age 14.


Sugar Bowl	Notre Dame (10-0) 24	Alabama (10-0) 23
Cotton Bowl	Nebraska (8-2-1) 19	Texas (8-2) 3
Rose Bowl	Ohio State (9-0-1) 42	USC (9-1-1) 21
Orange Bowl	Penn State (11-0) 16	LSU (9-2) 9

Notre Dame (11-0) won the AP national title after defeating Alabama (11-1) 24-23 in the Sugar Bowl. The game was a back-and-forth affair that saw six lead changes and a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback by the Fighting Irish. Alabama had been crowned the UPI Coaches’ Poll national champion before the bowl games.

The biggest mover of the year is the Independent Cincinnati Bearcats. Led by first-year head coach Tony Mason, Cincinnati would improve from 4-7 to a perfect 11-0 on the strength of their sixth-ranked defense. Ironically, Cincinnati’s cross-town rival is the biggest fall in this exercise, dropping from 5-5-1 to 0-10-1. Xavier already voted to end college football after their 1973 season, so their fall has little impact on the future of college football.

Unbeaten teams: Alabama (11-0), Michigan (10-0-1), Ohio State (9-0-1), Cincinnati (11-0)

Penn State, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma all suffered one loss in this hypothetical. Miami of Ohio dropped significantly from 10-0 to just 6-4, likely putting them entirely out of bowl contention. Alabama, Michigan, and Ohio State all remain unbeaten and could vie for a claim at a national championship.

Penn State running back John Cappelletti more than doubled the votes of the second-place vote-getter for the Heisman in Ohio State offensive lineman John Hicks. Despite Penn State losing to NC State in this scenario, Cappelletti remains the Heisman winner.

Seven of the eight major bowl participants are well-set in this alternate world. Unbeaten Cincinnati becomes a wild card. While they would be undefeated, they played a weak schedule in 1973. Despite a blowout loss to Penn State, Maryland, the ACC champion, would likely get the Sugar Bowl bid over the unbeaten Bearcats.


Sugar Bowl	Alabama (11-0)	Maryland (10-1)
Cotton Bowl	Texas (10-1)	Arizona State (10-1)
Rose Bowl	Ohio State (9-0-1)	USC (8-2-1)
Orange Bowl	Penn State (10-1)	Notre Dame (9-1)

As the UPI Coaches poll came out before the bowl games, I suspect that Alabama would retain their 1973 Coaches poll title. However, they would now face the Terrapins instead of meeting Notre Dame in the game. Ohio State still gets the nod over Michigan for a trip to the Rose Bowl against USC, which remains the Pac-8 champion.

Oklahoma retains its Big 8 title but is still banned from postseason play. Penn State likely plays in the Orange Bowl, where a 9-1 Notre Dame team would get the nod over Arizona State, East Carolina, and Cincinnati. Texas would bring its Southwest Conference championship to the Cotton Bowl. However, instead of facing Nebraska, which would drop off slightly under first-year head coach Tom Osborne, they now meet WAC champion Arizona State.

Alabama had a top-five scoring offense and defense in 1973. While the Terps were top 25 in both categories, Bear Bryant’s squad would’ve been too much for Maryland. Ohio State would also have a claim at an AP poll title after completing an unbeaten season. Oklahoma, if eligible, would also have a strong claim at a national title as they would’ve likely won their bowl game. I think Alabama’s 12-0 record would be too hard for the AP voters to ignore, and the Crimson Tide would walk away with both major poll titles.

For 1973, the hypothetical doesn’t change much in legacies. Ara Parseghian had already cemented his coaching legacy by turning Notre Dame around and winning a title in 1966. Bear Bryant and Alabama already shared the 1973 title, so winning in both polls isn’t a legacy mover for the coaching legend in Tuscaloosa, either. Tom Osborne’s Huskers dropping from 8-2-1 and a Cotton Bowl bid to 7-3-1 and outside of the major bowls would be a significant fall for the defending Orange Bowl champions.