CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1973 Michigan State

5–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Dennis Stolz.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 1973, game by game: lost at Northwestern 10–14; won at Syracuse 14–8; lost vs. No. 17 UCLA 21–34; lost at No. 8 Notre Dame 10–14; lost vs. No. 5 Michigan 0–31; lost vs. Illinois 3–6; won at Purdue 10–7; won vs. Wisconsin 21–0; lost at No. 1 Ohio State 0–35; won vs. Indiana 10–9; won at Iowa 15–6+21−35Lost 10–14 at Northwestern-4NorthwesternWon 14–8 at Syracuse+6SyracuseLost 21–34 vs. No. 17 UCLA-13No. 17 UCLALost 10–14 at No. 8 Notre Dame-4No. 8 Notre DameLost 0–31 vs. No. 5 Michigan-31No. 5 MichiganLost 3–6 vs. Illinois-3IllinoisWon 10–7 at Purdue+3PurdueWon 21–0 vs. Wisconsin+21WisconsinLost 0–35 at No. 1 Ohio State-35No. 1 Ohio StateWon 10–9 vs. Indiana+1IndianaWon 15–6 at Iowa+9Iowa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 15atNorthwesternL 10–⁠1460%
Sep 22atSyracuseW 14–⁠855%
Sep 29vs17UCLAL 21–⁠3453%
Oct 6at8Notre DameL 10–⁠1424%
Oct 13vs5MichiganL 0–⁠3129%
Oct 20vsIllinoisL 3–⁠657%
Oct 27atPurdueW 10–⁠735%
Nov 3vsWisconsinW 21–⁠065%
Nov 10at1Ohio StateL 0–⁠3518%
Nov 17vsIndianaW 10–⁠973%
Nov 24atIowaW 15–⁠674%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Iowa 15–⁠6; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 76th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

Record
5–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 4th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
114–⁠164
Coach
Dennis Stolz
Elo
1504 −30 this season
SP+ rating
5.7 No. 55 of 123; offense No. 107, defense No. 10
SRS
8.8 No. 36 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Andy MacDonald
Captains
Michael Holt and John Shinsky
Most valuable player
Ray Nester

Drafted in 1974

The 1974 draft
Rd 2Bill Simpson DBLos Angeles Rams
Rd 7Raymond Nester LBDallas Cowboys

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Ray NesterLBAP-2
  • Terence McClowryLBUPI-2
  • Mark NiesenDBUPI-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 Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠0–⁠110–⁠0–⁠16
Ohio State7–⁠0–⁠110–⁠0–⁠12
Minnesota6–⁠27–⁠4
Purdue4–⁠45–⁠6
Michigan State4–⁠45–⁠6
Illinois4–⁠45–⁠6
Northwestern4–⁠44–⁠7
Wisconsin3–⁠54–⁠7
Indiana0–⁠82–⁠9
Iowa0–⁠80–⁠11

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