1973 Holy Cross Crusaders football team

1973 Holy Cross Crusaders football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–6
Head coach	Ed Doherty (3rd season)
Captains	Tyree Blocker Steve Buchanan
Home stadium	Fitton Field
Seasons ←  1972 1974  →

1973 NCAA Division I independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame			–					11	–	0	–	0
No. 5 Penn State			–					12	–	0	–	0
No. 9 Houston			–					11	–	1	–	0
Temple			–					9	–	1	–	0
No. 20 Tulane			–					9	–	3	–	0
Memphis State			–					8	–	3	–	0
Tampa			–					8	–	3	–	0
Boston College			–					7	–	4	–	0
South Carolina			–					7	–	4	–	0
Utah State			–					7	–	4	–	0
Air Force			–					6	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss			–					6	–	4	–	1
Northern Illinois			–					6	–	5	–	0
Rutgers			–					6	–	5	–	0
West Virginia			–					6	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					6	–	5	–	1
Colgate			–					5	–	5	–	0
Dayton			–					5	–	5	–	1
Xavier			–					5	–	5	–	1
Georgia Tech			–					5	–	6	–	0
Holy Cross			–					5	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					5	–	6	–	0
Cincinnati			–					4	–	7	–	0
Marshall			–					4	–	7	–	0
Navy			–					4	–	7	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					3	–	7	–	1
Villanova			–					3	–	8	–	0
Syracuse			–					2	–	9	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					2	–	9	–	0
Army			–					0	–	10	–	0
Florida State			–					0	–	11	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1973 Holy Cross Crusaders football team was an American football team that represented the College of the Holy Cross as an independent during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. Ed Doherty returned for his third year as head coach. The team compiled a record of 5–6. ^[1]

All home games were played at Fitton Field on the Holy Cross campus in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8		at UMass	Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	W 30–28	18,100	[2]
September 15		Northeastern	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 38–14	14,500	[3]
September 22		at New Hampshire	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	W 31–0	7,864–10,530	[4] [5]
September 29		Temple	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	L 34–63	16,420	[6]
October 6		at Dartmouth	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	W 10–0	15,700	[7]
October 13		Colgate	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	L 21–22	15,721	[8]
October 27	2:00 p.m.	at Army	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	W 17–10	42,257–42,267	[9]
November 10		Syracuse^	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	L 3–5	16,404	[10]
November 17		Rutgers	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	L 7–27	14,881	[11]
November 24		at Connecticut	Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	L 9–10	10,286	[12]
December 1		at Boston College	Fitton Field Worcester, MA (rivalry)	L 21–42	22,500	[13]
Homecoming ^ Family Weekend All times are in Eastern time

^[14]

Statistical leaders

Statistical leaders for the 1973 Crusaders included: ^[15]

• Rushing: Steve Buchanan, 849 yards and 4 touchdowns on 183 attempts
• Passing: Peter Vaas, 1,631 yards, 135 completions and 13 touchdowns on 258 attempts
• Receiving: Mark Sheridan, 703 yards and 5 touchdowns on 46 receptions
• Scoring: Steve Buchanan, 42 points from 7 touchdowns
• Total offense: Peter Vaas, 1,667 yards (1,631 passing, 36 rushing)
• All-purpose yards: Steve Buchanan, 1,023 yards (849 rushing, 174 receiving)
• Interceptions: John Provost, 8 interceptions for 138 yards

References

1. "2019 Holy Cross Football Fact Book" (PDF). Worcester, Mass.: College of the Holy Cross. p. 123. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
2. Concannon, Joe (September 9, 1973). "Holy Cross Outlasts UMass, 30-28, as Safety Proves Decisive". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 90 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Nason, Jerry (September 16, 1973). "NU Wins Statistics Battle, Holy Cross Wins Game, 38-14". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 66 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Holy Cross 38, Northeastern 14". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia, Pa. September 16, 1973. p. 7D.
4. Gammons, Peter (September 23, 1973). "Crusaders March over UNH, 31-0, Vaas Leads Parade". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 97 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Final 1973 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (New Hampshire)". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved December 26, 2022.
6. Lewis, Allen (September 30, 1973). "Temple Outraces Holy Cross, 63-34". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia, Pa. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
7. Gammons, Peter (October 7, 1973). "Hungry Crusader Freshmen Put Bite on Dartmouth, 10-0". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 70 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Concannon, Joe (October 14, 1973). "Two-Point Conversion Catapults Colgate over Hobbled Holy Cross, 22-21". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 97 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Ward, Gene (October 28, 1973). "Give-and-Take Army Bobbles to HC, 17-10". Sunday News . New York, N.Y. p. 140 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Gammons, Peter (November 11, 1973). "Weather, HC Frigid — Syracuse Ends Famine". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 94 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Shaughnessy, Dan (November 18, 1973). "Turnovers, J.J.'s Running Ruin Holy Cross for Rutgers, 27-7". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 105 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Keyes, Frank (November 25, 1973). "UConn Beats HC, 10-9 on Last Minute Kick". The Hartford Courant . Hartford, Conn. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
13. Nason, Jerry (December 2, 1973). "Esposito, Briggs Power BC Past HC". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 93 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Schedule/Results (1973 Holy Cross)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved September 23, 2025.
15. "2019 Holy Cross Football Fact Book" (PDF). Worcester, Mass.: College of the Holy Cross. pp. 68–73. Retrieved June 15, 2020.