CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1973 Nebraska

9–⁠2–⁠1 (4–⁠2–⁠1 Big Eight), coached by Tom Osborne, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 1973, game by game: won vs. No. 10 UCLA 40–13; won vs. No. 14 NC State 31–14; won vs. Wisconsin 20–16; won at Minnesota 48–7; lost at No. 12 Missouri 12–13; won vs. No. 18 Kansas 10–9; tied at Oklahoma State 17–17; won vs. No. 17 Colorado 28–16; won vs. Iowa State 31–7; won at Kansas State 50–21; lost at No. 3 Oklahoma 0–27; won vs. No. 8 Texas 19–3+41−27Won 40–13 vs. No. 10 UCLA+27No. 10 UCLAWon 31–14 vs. No. 14 NC State+17No. 14 NC StateWon 20–16 vs. Wisconsin+4WisconsinWon 48–7 at Minnesota+41MinnesotaLost 12–13 at No. 12 Missouri-1No. 12 MissouriWon 10–9 vs. No. 18 Kansas+1No. 18 KansasTied 17–17 at Oklahoma State0Oklahoma StateWon 28–16 vs. No. 17 Colorado+12No. 17 ColoradoWon 31–7 vs. Iowa State+24Iowa StateWon 50–21 at Kansas State+29Kansas StateLost 0–27 at No. 3 Oklahoma-27No. 3 OklahomaWon 19–3 vs. No. 8 Texas+16No. 8 Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8vs10UCLAW 40–⁠1376%
Sep 22vs14NC StateW 31–⁠1474%
Sep 29vsWisconsinW 20–⁠1691%
Oct 6atMinnesotaW 48–⁠781%
Oct 13at12MissouriL 12–⁠1366%
Oct 20vs18KansasW 10–⁠979%
Oct 27atOklahoma StateT 17–⁠1770%
Nov 3vs17ColoradoW 28–⁠1671%
Nov 10vsIowa StateW 31–⁠786%
Nov 17atKansas StateW 50–⁠2182%
Nov 23at3OklahomaL 0–⁠2734%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs8TexasCotton BowlW 19–⁠353%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Texas 19–⁠3 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Consensus All-AmericanJohn Dutton, DE

Record
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠2–⁠1 tied for 2nd in Big Eight
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 2
Points
306–⁠163
Coach
Tom Osborne
Elo
1784 +70 this season
SP+ rating
30.0 No. 4 of 123; offense No. 11, defense No. 3
SRS
28.9 No. 6 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Monte Kiffin
Offense
I formation
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1974

The 1974 draft
Rd 1John Dutton DTBaltimore Colts
Rd 4Steve Manstedt LBHouston Oilers
Rd 4Daryl White OGCincinnati Bengals
Rd 6Bob Wolfe OTMiami Dolphins
Rd 7Maury Damkroger LBNew England Patriots

All-Big Eight

4 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Dan AndersonOGAP-2
  • John BellMGAP-2
  • Randy BorgDBAP-2; UPI-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 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.