CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1973 Minnesota

7–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Cal Stoll.

Schedule and results

Minnesota in 1973, game by game: lost at No. 3 Ohio State 7–56; won vs. North Dakota 41–14; lost at Kansas 19–34; lost vs. No. 2 Nebraska 7–48; won vs. Indiana 24–3; won at Iowa 31–23; lost vs. No. 4 Michigan 7–34; won at Northwestern 52–43; won vs. Purdue 34–7; won at Illinois 19–16; won vs. Wisconsin 19–17+27−49Lost 7–56 at No. 3 Ohio State-49No. 3 Ohio StateWon 41–14 vs. North Dakota+27North DakotaLost 19–34 at Kansas-15KansasLost 7–48 vs. No. 2 Nebraska-41No. 2 NebraskaWon 24–3 vs. Indiana+21IndianaWon 31–23 at Iowa+8IowaLost 7–34 vs. No. 4 Michigan-27No. 4 MichiganWon 52–43 at Northwestern+9NorthwesternWon 34–7 vs. Purdue+27PurdueWon 19–16 at Illinois+3IllinoisWon 19–17 vs. Wisconsin+2Wisconsin
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 15at3Ohio StateL 7–⁠5624%
Sep 22vsNorth DakotaW 41–⁠1490%
Sep 29atKansasL 19–⁠3429%
Oct 6vs2NebraskaL 7–⁠4819%
Oct 13vsIndianaW 24–⁠352%
Oct 20atIowaW 31–⁠2360%
Oct 27vs4MichiganL 7–⁠3423%
Nov 3atNorthwesternW 52–⁠4354%
Nov 10vsPurdueW 34–⁠752%
Nov 17atIllinoisW 19–⁠1645%
Nov 24vsWisconsinW 19–⁠1770%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Wisconsin 19–⁠17; unranked in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 75th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
7–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
260–⁠295
Coach
Cal Stoll
Elo
1529 +68 this season
SP+ rating
5.6 No. 56 of 123; offense No. 26, defense No. 83
SRS
9.9 No. 33 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Mike Steidl
Most valuable player
Steve Neils and Matt Herkenhoff

Drafted in 1974

The 1974 draft
Rd 2Keith Fahnhorst TESan Francisco 49ers
Rd 4Matt Herkenhoff OTKansas City Chiefs
Rd 5Steve Neils LBSt. Louis Cardinals

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 2 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 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.