1973 Utah Utes football team

American college football season

1973 Utah Utes football

Conference| Western Athletic Conference
Record| 7–5 (4–2 WAC)
Head coach|

* Bill Meek (6th season)

Defensive coordinator| Jim LaRue (6th season)
Home stadium| Robert Rice Stadium

Seasons

<- 1972

1974 ->

1973 Western Athletic Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf. |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

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

* \+ - Conference co-champions

Rankings from AP Poll

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.

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

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|

September 15| at No. 20 Texas Tech*|

* Jones Stadium
* Lubbock, TX

| L 22–29| 38,554| [6]
September 22| UTEP|

* Robert Rice Stadium
* Salt Lake City, UT

| W 82–6| 27,103| [7]
September 29| at Oregon*|

* Autzen Stadium
* Eugene, OR

| W 35–17| 31,500| [8]
October 6| at No. 16 UCLA*|

* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Los Angeles, CA

| L 16–66| 32,697| [9]
October 13| Wyoming|

* Robert Rice Stadium
* Salt Lake City, UT

| W 50–16| 30,244| [10]
October 20| at San Jose State*|

* Spartan Stadium
* San Jose, CA

| W 28–21| 12,100| [11]
October 27| at Arizona|

* Arizona Stadium
* Tucson, AZ

| L 21–42| 34,219| [12]
November 3| No. 8 Arizona State|

* Robert Rice Stadium
* Salt Lake City, UT

| W 36–31| 22,135| [13]
November 10| at New Mexico|

* University Stadium
* [Albuquerque, NM

| W 36–35| 10,757| [14]
November 17| Utah State*|

* Robert Rice Stadium
* Salt Lake City, UT (rivalry)

| W 31–28| 27,842| [15]
November 24| BYU|

* Robert Rice Stadium
* Salt Lake City, UT (rivalry)

| L 22–46| 18,243| [16]
December 1| at No. 11 (small) Hawaii*|

* Honolulu Stadium
* Honolulu, HI

| L 6–7| 15,662| [17]

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[18][19]

## Roster

[edit]

1973 Utah Utes football team roster

Players  | Coaches
Offense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

QB | `19` | Don Van Galder | Sr
RB | `22` | Ike Spencer | Jr
FL | `25` | Steve Odom | Sr
TE | `45` | Willie Armstead | Jr
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

DT | `72` | Gary Keller | Sr
DT | `79` | Ron Rydalch | Sr
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

Head coach

* Bill Meek (6th year)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* Jim LaRue (DC)
* Gene Dahlquist
* Tom Lovat
* Jeff Fries
* Dale Johnson

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Redshirt

[1][20]

## NFL draft

[edit]

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

[21][22]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Miller, Hack (January 5, 1974). "Search on for U. coach". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 6A.
2. ^ "Ute brass braced for applications". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). January 7, 1974. p. B9.
3. ^ Ferguson, George (January 25, 1974). "Lovat, Riehlman top Ute list". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. D1.
4. ^ "Lovat gets Utah's grid post". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). January 26, 1974. p. 6A.
5. ^ Rock, Brad (January 24, 1997). "Lovat, like U. football, moved to better days". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. D1.
6. ^ "Raiders ax Utah, 29–22". Bryan-College Station Eagle. September 16, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Utes rout UTEP, 82–6". The Daily Herald. September 23, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Utah gives Ducks 35–17 shellacking". The Arizona Republic. September 30, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "UCLA on 66–16 tear of Utah". Oakland Tribune. October 7, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Utes shatter Pokes, 50–16". Casper Star-Tribune. October 14, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Utes stop San Jose". The Salt Lake Tribune. October 21, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Arizona charges to 42–21 victory over Redskins". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. October 28, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ "Arizona State errors aid 36–31 Utah upset". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 4, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "Utah prevails on PAT pass by Van Galder". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 11, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
15. ^ "Utah escapes with 31–28 victory over Utah State". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. November 18, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
16. ^ "BYU gives Utes 46–22 snow job". The El Paso Times. November 25, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
17. ^ "Rainbows surprise Utah in the slop, 7–6". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. December 2, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
18. ^ "Ute Record Book" (PDF). University of Utah. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
19. ^ "1973 NCAA Football Statistics (Utah)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
20. ^ "Oregon-Utah lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). September 29, 1973. p. 4B.
21. ^ "Odom goes in 5th round". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. January 30, 1974. p. D1.
22. ^ "Several area stars taken in grid draft". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. January 31, 1974. p. 2D.

* v
* t
* e

Utah Utes football

Venues|

* Cummings Field (1903–1926)
* Robert Rice Stadium (1927–1997)
* Rice–Eccles Stadium (1998–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* BYU: Holy War (Beehive Boot)
* Colorado: Rumble in the Rockies
* Utah State: Battle of the Brothers (Beehive Boot)

Culture & lore|

* Swoop
* "Utah Man"
* Pride of Utah
* Utah pass

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1892
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National championship seasons in bold
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf.]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number