1973 Utah Utes football team
American college football season
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The 1973 Utah Utes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Utah as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. In their sixth and final season under head coach Bill Meek, the Utes compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 4–2 against conference opponents, placing third in the WAC. Home games were played on campus at Robert Rice Stadium in Salt Lake City.
- Bill Meek (6th season)
| 1973 Utah Utes football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Western Athletic Conference |
| Record | 7–5 (4–2 WAC) |
| Head coach |
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| Defensive coordinator | Jim LaRue (6th season) |
| Home stadium | Robert Rice Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Arizona State + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BYU | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wyoming | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado State | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UTEP | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 11 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Five weeks after the season ended, in early 1974, Meek resigned.[1] Defensive line coach Tom Lovat, a 35-year-old alumnus from Bingham, was retained for the interim for recruiting continuation and was promoted later that month.[2][3][4][5]
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 15 | at No. 20 Texas Tech* | L 22–29 | 38,554 | [6] | ||
| September 22 | UTEP | W 82–6 | 27,103 | [7] | ||
| September 29 | at Oregon* | W 35–17 | 31,500 | [8] | ||
| October 6 | at No. 16 UCLA* | L 16–66 | 32,697 | [9] | ||
| October 13 | Wyoming |
| W 50–16 | 30,244 | [10] | |
| October 20 | 8:30 p.m. | at San Jose State* | W 28–21 | 12,100–12,500 | [11] | |
| October 27 | at Arizona | L 21–42 | 34,219 | [12] | ||
| November 3 | No. 8 Arizona State |
| W 36–31 | 22,135 | [13] | |
| November 10 | at New Mexico | W 36–35 | 10,757 | [14] | ||
| November 17 | Utah State* |
| W 31–28 | 27,842 | [15] | |
| November 24 | BYU |
| L 22–46 | 18,243 | [16] | |
| December 1 | at No. 11 (small) Hawaii* | L 6–7 | 15,662 | [17] | ||
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Roster
| 1973 Utah Utes 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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NFL draft
Four Utes were selected in the 1974 NFL draft, which lasted 17 rounds (442 selections).
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL team |
| Steve Odom | Wide receiver | 5 | 116 | Green Bay Packers |
| Ron Rydalch | Defensive tackle | 8 | 197 | New York Jets |
| Gary Keller | Defensive tackle | 13 | 337 | Minnesota Vikings |
| Don Van Galder | Quarterback | 14 | 361 | Washington Redskins |