CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1973 Kansas

7–⁠4–⁠1 (4–⁠2–⁠1 Big Eight), coached by Don Fambrough, finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Kansas in 1973, game by game: won vs. Washington State 29–8; won at Florida State 28–0; won vs. Minnesota 34–19; lost at No. 9 Tennessee 27–28; won vs. Kansas State 25–18; lost at No. 11 Nebraska 9–10; won at Iowa State 22–20; tied vs. Oklahoma State 10–10; won vs. Colorado 17–15; lost at No. 3 Oklahoma 20–48; won vs. No. 19 Missouri 14–13; lost vs. No. 16 NC State 18–31+28−28Won 29–8 vs. Washington State+21Washington StateWon 28–0 at Florida State+28Florida StateWon 34–19 vs. Minnesota+15MinnesotaLost 27–28 at No. 9 Tennessee-1No. 9 TennesseeWon 25–18 vs. Kansas State+7Kansas StateLost 9–10 at No. 11 Nebraska-1No. 11 NebraskaWon 22–20 at Iowa State+2Iowa StateTied 10–10 vs. Oklahoma State0Oklahoma StateWon 17–15 vs. Colorado+2ColoradoLost 20–48 at No. 3 Oklahoma-28No. 3 OklahomaWon 14–13 vs. No. 19 Missouri+1No. 19 MissouriLost 18–31 vs. No. 16 NC State-13No. 16 NC State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 15vsWashington StateW 29–⁠850%
Sep 22atFlorida StateW 28–⁠040%
Sep 29vsMinnesotaW 34–⁠1971%
Oct 6at9TennesseeL 27–⁠2822%
Oct 13vsKansas StateW 25–⁠1865%
Oct 20at11NebraskaL 9–⁠1021%
Oct 27atIowa StateW 22–⁠2050%
Nov 3vsOklahoma StateT 10–⁠1062%
Nov 10vsColoradoW 17–⁠1550%
Nov 17at3OklahomaL 20–⁠4816%
Nov 24vs19MissouriW 14–⁠1360%
Dec 17Bowls & playoffvs16NC StateLiberty BowlL 18–⁠3142%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to NC State 31–⁠18 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 18 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The tied 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 19
  2. Wk 7: 18
  3. Wk 8: 17
  4. Wk 10: 18
  5. Wk 11: 18
  6. Wk 12: 20
  7. Wk 13: 17
  8. Wk 14: 19
  9. Final: 18

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.

Heisman voteDavid Jaynes, fourth

Consensus All-AmericanDavid Jaynes, QB

Record
7–⁠4–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠2–⁠1 tied for 2nd in Big Eight
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 17
Points
253–⁠220
Coach
Don Fambrough
Elo
1566 +89 this season
SP+ rating
14.5 No. 24 of 123; offense No. 41, defense No. 27
SRS
17.2 No. 18 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Jim Dickey
Captains
Don Goode and John Bryant

Drafted in 1974

The 1974 draft
Rd 1Don Goode LBSan Diego Chargers
Rd 2Delvin Williams RBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 3Mitch Sutton DTPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 3David Jaynes QBKansas City Chiefs

All-Big Eight

4 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

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.