1973 Michigan State Spartans football team
The 1973 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1973 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first season under head coach Denny Stolz, the Spartans compiled a 5–6 overall record (4–4 against Big Ten opponents) and finished in a tie for fourth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1][2]
1973 Michigan State Spartans football | |
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Conference | Big Ten Conference |
1973 record | 5–6 (4–4 Big Ten) |
Head coach | Denny Stolz (1st season) |
Captain | Michael Holt, John Shinsky |
Home stadium | Spartan Stadium (Capacity: 76,000) |
1973 Big Ten Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 2 Ohio State + | 7 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 6 Michigan + | 7 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minnesota | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Illinois | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michigan State | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Purdue | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northwestern | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wisconsin | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indiana | 0 | – | 8 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Iowa | 0 | – | 8 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 11 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Defensive Bill Simpson was the only Spartan to be selected by either the Associated Press (AP) or the United Press International (UPI) as a first-team player on the 1973 All-Big Ten Conference football team. Simpson received first-team honors from the UPI and second-team honors from the AP. Other Spartans received second-team honors, including defensive tackle John Shinsky, linebackers Ray Nester and Terence McClowry, and defensive back Mark Niesen.[3][4]
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
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September 15 | at Northwestern |
| L 10–14 |
September 22 | at Syracuse* |
| W 14–8 |
September 29 | No. 17 UCLA* |
| L 21–34 |
October 6 | at No. 8 Notre Dame* |
| L 10–14 |
October 13 | No. 5 Michigan |
| L 0–31 |
October 20 | Illinois |
| L 3–6 |
October 27 | at Purdue |
| W 10–7 |
November 3 | Wisconsin |
| W 21–0 |
November 10 | at No. 1 Ohio State |
| L 0–35 |
November 17 | Indiana |
| W 10–9 |
November 24 | at Iowa |
| W 15–6 |
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Roster
1973 Michigan State Spartans football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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References
- "Michigan State Yearly Results (1970-1974)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
- "2015 Michigan State Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. p. 146. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
- "1973 AP All Big Ten Football Team". Piqua Daily Call. November 27, 1973. p. 11.
- "Bucks, Wolves Dominate: Buckeyes Place 10 On All-Big Ten Team". The Times Recorder (Zanesville, Ohio). November 28, 1973. p. 11B.