1973 Lehigh Engineers football team

1973 Lehigh Engineers football
Lambert Cup co-champion
NCAA Division II Quarterfinal, L 16-26 at Western Kentucky
Conference	Independent
Record	7–4–1
Head coach	Fred Dunlap (9th season)
Captains	Roger McFillin Kim McQuilken
Home stadium	Taylor Stadium
Seasons ←  1972 1974  →

1973 NCAA Division II independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Tennessee State			–					10	–	0	–	0
No. 9 Hawaii			–					9	–	2	–	0
Nebraska–Omaha			–					7	–	2	–	1
Trinity (TX)			–					8	–	3	–	0
UNLV			–					8	–	3	–	0
No. 13 Delaware ^			–					8	–	4	–	0
Western Carolina			–					6	–	3	–	1
Central Michigan			–					7	–	4	–	0
Nevada			–					7	–	4	–	0
Western Illinois			–					7	–	4	–	0
Milwaukee			–					6	–	4	–	1
Eastern Michigan			–					6	–	4	–	0
American International			–					5	–	4	–	0
Akron			–					6	–	5	–	0
Central State (OH)			–					6	–	5	–	0
Wayne State (MI)			–					5	–	5	–	0
Drexel			–					4	–	4	–	0
Bucknell			–					3	–	4	–	2
Northeast Louisiana			–					3	–	5	–	2
Santa Clara			–					4	–	6	–	0
Youngstown State			–					4	–	6	–	0
Arkansas–Pine Bluff			–					3	–	5	–	1
Chattanooga			–					4	–	7	–	0
Indiana State			–					4	–	7	–	0
Northeastern			–					3	–	6	–	0
Kentucky State			–					3	–	8	–	0
Northern Michigan			–					2	–	7	–	1
Eastern Illinois			–					2	–	9	–	0
Portland State			–					1	–	10	–	0
^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP small college poll

The 1973 Lehigh Engineers football team was an American football team that represented Lehigh University as an independent during the 1973 NCAA Division II football season. Lehigh lost in the quarterfinal round of the national playoffs, and won the Lambert Cup.

In their ninth year under head coach Fred Dunlap, the Engineers compiled a 7–4–1 record (7–3–1 in the regular season). ^[1] Kim McQuilken and Roger McFillin were the team captains. ^[2] McQuilken completed 62.5% of his passes for 2,603 yards and 19 touchdowns and was selected by the Associated Press as the first-team quarterback on the 1973 Little All-America college football team. ^[3]

Although they did not appear at any point in the small college rankings, the Engineers earned a share of the Lambert Cup, awarded to the best team from a mid-sized college in the East. Lehigh shared the honor with Delaware, which had started the year ranked No. 1 and ended at No. 10.

Both Delaware and Lehigh also qualified for the first-ever NCAA Division II national playoff. Lehigh lost a road game to No. 2 Western Kentucky.

Lehigh played its home games at Taylor Stadium on the university campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	at Hofstra	Hofstra Stadium Hempstead, NY	W 49–0	5,500	[4]
September 15	at Connecticut	Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	W 22–20	10,000–10,089	[5]
September 22	Rutgers	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	L 13–31	12,000	[6]
September 29	No. 1 Delaware	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA (rivalry)	L 9–21	14,500	[7]
October 6	at Cornell	Schoellkopf Field Ithaca, NY	T 7–7	14,000	[8]
October 13	at Bucknell	Memorial Stadium Lewisburg, PA	W 42–15	12,000	[9]
October 19	at Penn	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	L 20–27	15,500–17,800	[10]
October 27	Gettysburg	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 43–15	12,000	[11]
November 3	Colgate	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 58–26	12,000	[12]
November 10	at Rochester	Fauver Stadium Rochester, NY	W 42–0	2,500	[1]
November 17	Lafayette	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA (The Rivalry)	W 45–13	18,000	[13]
December 1	at No. 2 Western Kentucky	L.T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal)	L 16–26	12,500	[14]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[15]

References

1. "Year-by-Year Results". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 22. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
2. "Lehigh Football Captains". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 12. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
3. "Johnsons Pace Little All-Stars". The Daily Advertiser. December 6, 1973. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Larimer, Terry (September 9, 1973). "Engineers Roll 49-0 on Balanced Attack". Sunday Call-Chronicle . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "McQuilken on Target, Lehigh Romps, 49-0". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia, Pa. September 9, 1973. p. 9D.
5. Newell, Bill (September 16, 1973). "Lehigh Rally Beats UConns by 22-20". The Hartford Courant . Hartford, Conn. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
6. O'Brien, Ken (September 23, 1973). "Rutgers Captures Opener". The Home News Sunday . New Brunswick, N.J. p. A1 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Simmons, Bill (September 30, 1973). "Delaware Forced to Bear Down in Victory at Lehigh". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia, Pa. p. 5B – via Newspapers.com.
8. Larimer, Terry (October 7, 1973). "Lehigh Ties Cornell 7-7". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Larimer, Terry (October 14, 1973). "Lehigh Rolls to 42-15 Romp at Bucknell". Sunday Call-Chronicle . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
10. McGowen, Deane (October 20, 1973). "Penn Downs Lehigh, 27-20, for 34th Time in a Row". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. 68.
11. Larimer, Terry (October 28, 1973). "Lehigh Uses Old and New to Batter Gettysburg 45-13". Sunday Call-Chronicle . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Larimer, Terry (November 4, 1973). "McQuilken, Gardner Pace 58-26 Lehigh Romp". Sunday Call-Chronicle . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Larimer, Terry (November 18, 1973). "Lehigh Romps; McQuilken, Co Unstoppable". Sunday Call-Chronicle . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Patterson, Tom (December 2, 1973). "Santa Gives Nod and Western Rises". The Courier-Journal & Times . Louisville, Ky. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Final 1973 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Lehigh)". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved August 16, 2024.