1973 Utah Utes football team

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

Date	Time	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	8:30 p.m.	at San Jose State *	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	W 28–21	12,100–12,500	[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 All times are in Mountain time

^{[18] [19]}

Roster

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

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

1. 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.