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1973 San Diego State

9–⁠1–⁠1 (3–⁠0–⁠1 Pacific Coast Athletic Association), coached by Claude Gilbert.

Schedule and results

San Diego State in 1973, game by game: won at Utah State 35–7; won vs. Kent State 17–9; lost vs. No. 14 Houston 9–14; won vs. New Mexico State 27–0; won at Pacific 13–10; won vs. Florida State 38–17; tied at San José State 27–27; won vs. Long Beach State 17–2; won at Fresno State 41–6; won vs. North Texas 56–9; won vs. Iowa State 41–28+47−5Won 35–7 at Utah State+28Utah StateWon 17–9 vs. Kent State+8Kent StateLost 9–14 vs. No. 14 Houston-5No. 14 HoustonWon 27–0 vs. New Mexico State+27New Mexico StateWon 13–10 at Pacific+3PacificWon 38–17 vs. Florida State+21Florida StateTied 27–27 at San José State0San José StateWon 17–2 vs. Long Beach State+15Long Beach StateWon 41–6 at Fresno State+35Fresno StateWon 56–9 vs. North Texas+47North TexasWon 41–28 vs. Iowa State+13Iowa State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 22atUtah StateW 35–⁠746%
Sep 29vsKent StateW 17–⁠970%
Oct 6vs14HoustonL 9–⁠1460%
Oct 13vsNew Mexico StateW 27–⁠083%
Oct 20atPacificW 13–⁠1063%
Oct 27vsFlorida StateW 38–⁠1785%
Nov 3atSan José StateT 27–⁠2767%
Nov 10vsLong Beach StateW 17–⁠292%
Nov 17atFresno StateW 41–⁠688%
Nov 24vsNorth TexasW 56–⁠988%
Dec 1vsIowa StateW 41–⁠2872%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Iowa State 41–⁠28; unranked in the final AP poll; Pacific Coast Athletic Association champions.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 86 on file).

Pacific Coast Athletic Association champions3–⁠0–⁠1 in the conference

Led the nationJesse Freitas: passing yards (2,993 yds), total offense (2,901 yds), total offense per game (263.7); Keith Denson: receiving touchdowns (11 TD)

Record
9–⁠1–⁠1
Conference
3–⁠0–⁠1 first in Pacific Coast Athletic Association
AP final
Unranked
Points
321–⁠129
Coach
Claude Gilbert
Elo
1678 +84 this season
SP+ rating
19.3 No. 19 of 123; offense No. 23, defense No. 19
SRS
10.9 No. 26 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Ted Tollner
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1974

The 1974 draft
Rd 3Claudie Minor OTDenver Broncos
Rd 6Jesse Freitas QBSan Diego Chargers

All-Pac-8

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 Pacific Coast Athletic Association standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
San Diego State3–⁠0–⁠19–⁠1–⁠1
San José State2–⁠0–⁠25–⁠4–⁠2
Pacific2–⁠1–⁠17–⁠2–⁠1
Fresno State1–⁠32–⁠9
Long Beach State0–⁠41–⁠9–⁠1

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