CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1973 Colorado

5–⁠6 (2–⁠5 Big Eight), coached by Eddie Crowder.

Schedule and results

Colorado in 1973, game by game: lost at No. 15 LSU 6–17; won at Wisconsin 28–25; won vs. Baylor 52–28; won at Iowa State 23–16; won vs. Air Force 38–17; lost at No. 3 Oklahoma 7–34; won vs. No. 7 Missouri 17–13; lost at No. 13 Nebraska 16–28; lost at No. 18 Kansas 15–17; lost vs. Oklahoma State 24–38; lost vs. Kansas State 14–17+24−27Lost 6–17 at No. 15 LSU-11No. 15 LSUWon 28–25 at Wisconsin+3WisconsinWon 52–28 vs. Baylor+24BaylorWon 23–16 at Iowa State+7Iowa StateWon 38–17 vs. Air Force+21Air ForceLost 7–34 at No. 3 Oklahoma-27No. 3 OklahomaWon 17–13 vs. No. 7 Missouri+4No. 7 MissouriLost 16–28 at No. 13 Nebraska-12No. 13 NebraskaLost 15–17 at No. 18 Kansas-2No. 18 KansasLost 24–38 vs. Oklahoma State-14Oklahoma StateLost 14–17 vs. Kansas State-3Kansas State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 15at15LSUL 6–⁠1739%
Sep 22atWisconsinW 28–⁠2568%
Sep 29vsBaylorW 52–⁠2875%
Oct 6atIowa StateW 23–⁠1654%
Oct 13vsAir ForceW 38–⁠1771%
Oct 20at3OklahomaL 7–⁠3427%
Oct 27vs7MissouriW 17–⁠1362%
Nov 3at13NebraskaL 16–⁠2829%
Nov 10at18KansasL 15–⁠1750%
Nov 17vsOklahoma StateL 24–⁠3865%
Nov 24vsKansas StateL 14–⁠1776%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Kansas State 17–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 59th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 11
  2. Wk 2: 10
  3. Wk 3: 19
  4. Wk 5: 18
  5. Wk 6: 17
  6. Wk 7: 16
  7. Wk 9: 17

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1973.

Record
5–⁠6
Conference
2–⁠5 tied for 6th in Big Eight
AP final
Unranked peak No. 10
Points
240–⁠250
Coach
Eddie Crowder
Elo
1563 −49 this season
SP+ rating
12.6 No. 29 of 123; offense No. 26, defense No. 46
SRS
14.5 No. 21 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Kay Dalton
Defensive coordinator
Dan Radakovich
Captains
Randy Geist and William McDonald
Most valuable player
J.V. Cain
Offense
Pro-I
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1974

The 1974 draft
Rd 1Bo Matthews RBSan Diego Chargers
Rd 1J.V. Cain TESt. Louis Cardinals
Rd 2Charles Davis RBCincinnati Bengals
Rd 3Greg Horton OGChicago Bears
Rd 4Ozell Collier DBDenver Broncos
Rd 6Jon Keyworth TEWashington Redskins

All-Big Eight

3 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • William McDonaldCAP-2; UPI-2
  • David LoganBAP-2
  • Charlie DavisBUPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1973 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1973 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma7–⁠010–⁠0–⁠13
Nebraska4–⁠2–⁠19–⁠2–⁠17
Kansas4–⁠2–⁠17–⁠4–⁠118
Missouri3–⁠48–⁠417
Oklahoma State2–⁠3–⁠25–⁠4–⁠2
Colorado2–⁠55–⁠6
Kansas State2–⁠55–⁠6
Iowa State2–⁠54–⁠7

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.