CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1973 Ohio State

10–⁠0–⁠1 (7–⁠0–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Woody Hayes, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 1973, game by game: won vs. Minnesota 56–7; won vs. TCU 37–3; won vs. Washington State 27–3; won at Wisconsin 24–0; won at Indiana 37–7; won vs. Northwestern 60–0; won at Illinois 30–0; won vs. Michigan State 35–0; won vs. Iowa 55–13; tied vs. No. 4 Michigan 10–10; won vs. No. 7 USC 42–21+60Won 56–7 vs. Minnesota+49MinnesotaWon 37–3 vs. TCU+34TCUWon 27–3 vs. Washington State+24Washington StateWon 24–0 at Wisconsin+24WisconsinWon 37–7 at Indiana+30IndianaWon 60–0 vs. Northwestern+60NorthwesternWon 30–0 at Illinois+30IllinoisWon 35–0 vs. Michigan State+35Michigan StateWon 55–13 vs. Iowa+42IowaTied 10–10 vs. No. 4 Michigan0No. 4 MichiganWon 42–21 vs. No. 7 USC+21No. 7 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 15vsMinnesotaW 56–⁠776%
Sep 29vsTCUW 37–⁠375%
Oct 6vsWashington StateW 27–⁠375%
Oct 13atWisconsinW 24–⁠073%
Oct 20atIndianaW 37–⁠774%
Oct 27vsNorthwesternW 60–⁠089%
Nov 3atIllinoisW 30–⁠067%
Nov 10vsMichigan StateW 35–⁠082%
Nov 17vsIowaW 55–⁠1395%
Nov 24vs4MichiganT 10–⁠1036%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs7USCRose BowlW 42–⁠2143%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat USC 42–⁠21 in the Rose Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 Michigan

Heisman voteJohn Hicks, second; Archie Griffin, fifth

Outland TrophyJohn Hicks, OT; also the Lombardi

2 consensus All-AmericansJohn Hicks, OT; Randy Gradishar, LB

Record
10–⁠0–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0–⁠1 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 1
Points
413–⁠64
Coach
Woody Hayes
Elo
1766 +164 this season
SP+ rating
30.2 No. 3 of 123; offense No. 8, defense No. 5
SRS
36.3 No. 2 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
George Hill
Captains
Greg Hare and Rick Middleton
Most valuable player
Archie Griffin

Drafted in 1974

The 1974 draft
Rd 1John Hicks OGNew York Giants
Rd 1Rick Middleton LBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 1Randy Gradishar LBDenver Broncos
Rd 4Morris Bradshaw WROakland Raiders

All-Big Ten

12 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.