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1973 Michigan

10–⁠0–⁠1 (7–⁠0–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Bo Schembechler, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1973, game by game: won at Iowa 31–7; won vs. Stanford 47–10; won vs. Navy 14–0; won vs. Oregon 24–0; won at Michigan State 31–0; won vs. Wisconsin 35–6; won at Minnesota 34–7; won vs. Indiana 49–13; won vs. Illinois 21–6; won at Purdue 34–9; tied at No. 1 Ohio State 10–10+37Won 31–7 at Iowa+24IowaWon 47–10 vs. Stanford+37StanfordWon 14–0 vs. Navy+14NavyWon 24–0 vs. Oregon+24OregonWon 31–0 at Michigan State+31Michigan StateWon 35–6 vs. Wisconsin+29WisconsinWon 34–7 at Minnesota+27MinnesotaWon 49–13 vs. Indiana+36IndianaWon 21–6 vs. Illinois+15IllinoisWon 34–9 at Purdue+25PurdueTied 10–10 at No. 1 Ohio State0No. 1 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 15atIowaW 31–⁠777%
Sep 22vsStanfordW 47–⁠1074%
Sep 29vsNavyW 14–⁠085%
Oct 6vsOregonW 24–⁠087%
Oct 13atMichigan StateW 31–⁠071%
Oct 20vsWisconsinW 35–⁠690%
Oct 27atMinnesotaW 34–⁠777%
Nov 3vsIndianaW 49–⁠1391%
Nov 10vsIllinoisW 21–⁠686%
Nov 17atPurdueW 34–⁠978%
Nov 24at1Ohio StateT 10–⁠1064%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Tied Ohio State 10–⁠10; No. 6 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 5
  2. Wk 2: 5
  3. Wk 3: 5
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 5
  6. Wk 6: 5
  7. Wk 7: 4
  8. Wk 8: 4
  9. Wk 9: 4
  10. Wk 10: 4
  11. Wk 11: 4
  12. Wk 12: 4
  13. Wk 13: 4
  14. Wk 14: 5
  15. Final: 6

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.

Big Ten champions7–⁠0–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Ohio State

2 consensus All-AmericansDave Gallagher, DE; Dave Brown, S

Unbeaten at 10–⁠0–⁠1, the tie a 10–⁠10 game with Ohio State. The Big Ten’s athletic directors then voted Ohio State into the Rose Bowl, and Michigan stayed home.

Record
10–⁠0–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0–⁠1 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 4
Points
330–⁠68
Coach
Bo Schembechler
Elo
1768 +107 this season
SP+ rating
27.7 No. 6 of 123; offense No. 20, defense No. 2
SRS
32.9 No. 3 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Gary Moeller
Captains
Dave Gallagher and Paul Seal
Most valuable player
Paul Seal

Drafted in 1974

The 1974 draft
Rd 1Dave Gallagher DEChicago Bears
Rd 2Paul Seal TENew Orleans Saints
Rd 2Ed Shuttlesworth RBBaltimore Colts
Rd 4Clint Haslerig WRSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 7James Coode OTAtlanta Falcons

All-Big Ten

11 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • Gil ChapmanRBUPI-2
  • Chuck HeaterRBAP-2
  • Jim CoodeOTAP-2; UPI-2
  • Gary HainriharOGUPI-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.