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1973 NC State

9–⁠3 (6–⁠0 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Lou Holtz, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

NC State in 1973, game by game: won vs. East Carolina 57–8; won vs. Virginia 43–23; lost at No. 2 Nebraska 14–31; lost at Georgia 12–31; won vs. North Carolina 28–26; won vs. Maryland 24–22; won at Clemson 29–6; won at South Carolina 56–35; lost at No. 6 Penn State 29–35; won at Duke 21–3; won vs. Wake Forest 52–13; won vs. No. 19 Kansas 31–18+49−19Won 57–8 vs. East Carolina+49East CarolinaWon 43–23 vs. Virginia+20VirginiaLost 14–31 at No. 2 Nebraska-17No. 2 NebraskaLost 12–31 at Georgia-19GeorgiaWon 28–26 vs. North Carolina+2North CarolinaWon 24–22 vs. Maryland+2MarylandWon 29–6 at Clemson+23ClemsonWon 56–35 at South Carolina+21South CarolinaLost 29–35 at No. 6 Penn State-6No. 6 Penn StateWon 21–3 at Duke+18DukeWon 52–13 vs. Wake Forest+39Wake ForestWon 31–18 vs. No. 19 Kansas+13No. 19 Kansas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8vsEast CarolinaW 57–⁠869%
Sep 15vsVirginiaW 43–⁠2379%
Sep 22at2NebraskaL 14–⁠3126%
Sep 29atGeorgiaL 12–⁠3142%
Oct 6vsNorth CarolinaW 28–⁠2662%
Oct 13vsMarylandW 24–⁠2264%
Oct 27atClemsonW 29–⁠663%
Nov 3atSouth CarolinaW 56–⁠3556%
Nov 10at6Penn StateL 29–⁠3525%
Nov 17atDukeW 21–⁠375%
Nov 24vsWake ForestW 52–⁠1392%
Dec 17Bowls & playoffvs19KansasLiberty BowlW 31–⁠1858%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Kansas 31–⁠18 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 17
  2. Wk 2: 17
  3. Wk 3: 14
  4. Wk 4: 19
  5. Wk 11: 20
  6. Wk 12: 16
  7. Wk 13: 16
  8. Wk 14: 16
  9. Final: 16

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.

Atlantic Coast Conference champions6–⁠0 in the conference

Consensus All-AmericanBill Yoest, OG

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠0 first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 14
Points
396–⁠251
Coach
Lou Holtz
Elo
1663 +92 this season
SP+ rating
21.6 No. 15 of 123; offense No. 6, defense No. 53
SRS
19.0 No. 14 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Brian Burke

Drafted in 1974

The 1974 draft
Rd 1Charley Young RBDallas Cowboys
Rd 6Willie Burden RBDetroit Lions
Rd 6Rick Druschel OGPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 7Allen Sitterle OTPittsburgh Steelers

All-ACC

5 first team

First 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 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
NC State6–⁠09–⁠316
Maryland5–⁠18–⁠420
Clemson4–⁠25–⁠6
Virginia3–⁠34–⁠7
Duke1–⁠4–⁠12–⁠8–⁠1
North Carolina1–⁠54–⁠7
Wake Forest0–⁠5–⁠11–⁠9–⁠1

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