1973 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

1973 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
1973 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	7–4 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Cal Stoll (2nd season);
MVPs	Steve Neils; Matt Herkenhoff;
Captain	Mike Steidl
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

1973 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 Ohio State +	7	–	0	–	1	10	–	0	–	1
No. 6 Michigan +	7	–	0	–	1	10	–	0	–	1
	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Illinois	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Michigan State	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Purdue	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Northwestern	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Indiana	0	–	8	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Iowa	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1973 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1973 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second year under head coach Cal Stoll, the Golden Gophers compiled a 7–4 record but were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 295 to 260.^[1]

End Steve Neils and offensive tackle Matt Herkenhoff shared the team's Most Valuable Player award. Neils and end Keith Fahnhorst were named All-Big Ten first team. Offensive guard Darrel Bunge and wide receiver Rick Upchurch were named All-Big Ten second team. Defensive lineman Jeff Gunderson was named Academic All-Big Ten.^[2]

Total attendance for the season was 245,706, which averaged to 40,951. The season high for attendance was against Nebraska.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 15	at No. 3 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 7–56	86,005
September 22	North Dakota*	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 41–14	35,477
September 29	at Kansas*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 19–34	30,205
October 6	No. 2 Nebraska*	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	L 7–48	56,782
October 13	Indiana	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 24–3	37,710
October 20	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	W 31–23	55,137
October 27	No. 4 Michigan	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (Little Brown Jug)	L 7–34	44,435
November 3	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 52–43	30,081
November 10	Purdue	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 34–7	36,890
November 17	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 19–16	34,438
November 24	Wisconsin	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 19–17	34,412
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

At Ohio State

Minnesota Golden Gophers (0–0) at #3 Ohio State Buckeyes (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Minnesota	0	7	0	0	7
Ohio State	14	21	7	14	56

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Date: September 15
Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C)
Game attendance: 86,005

Game information

First quarter

OSU – Champ Henson 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 10:24. Ohio State 7–0. Drive:
OSU – Cornelius Greene 4-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 8:44. Ohio State 14–0. Drive:

Second quarter

MINN – John King 1-yard run (Steve Goldberg kick), 12:59. Ohio State 14–7. Drive:
OSU – Archie Griffin 93-yard kickoff return (Blair Conway kick), 12:45. Ohio State 21–7.
OSU – Champ Henson 2-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:51. Ohio State 28–7. Drive:
OSU – Brian Baschnagel 5-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 0:00. Ohio State 35–7. Drive:

Third quarter

OSU – Neal Colzie 78-yard punt return (Blair Conway kick), 5:36. Ohio State 42–7.

Fourth quarter

OSU – Champ Henson 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick), 10:39. Ohio State 49–7. Drive:
OSU – Billy Ezzo 55-yard pass from Greg Hare (Blair Conway kick), 1:51. Ohio State 56–7. Drive:

Top passers

MINN – John Lawing – 5/9, 31 yards, INT
OSU – Greg Hare – 2/2, 64 yards, TD

Top rushers

MINN – John King – 17 rushes, 51 yards, TD
OSU – Archie Griffin – 15 rushes, 129 yards

Top receivers

MINN – Keith Fahnhorst – 3 receptions, 23 yards
OSU – Billy Ezzo – 1 reception, 55 yards, TD

North Dakota

At Kansas

Nebraska

Indiana

At Iowa

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Minnesota	6	16	2	7	31
Iowa	14	3	6	0	23

Date: October 20
Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
Game attendance: 55,137

Michigan

At Northwestern

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Minnesota	7	14	21	10	52
Northwestern	7	7	14	15	43

Date: November 3
Location: Dyche Stadium • Evanston, Illinois

^[4]

Purdue

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Purdue	0	0	7	0	7
• Minnesota	17	10	0	7	34

Date: November 10
Location: Memorial Stadium, Minneapolis
Game attendance: 36,890

^[5]

At Illinois

Wisconsin

Personnel

1973 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
OL		Darrel Bunge
OL		Dan Christensen
QB		Tony Dungy
TE		Keith Fahnhorst
QB		Gil Fash
WR		Vince Fuller
OL		Dale Hegland
WR		Dale Henricksen
OT	`72`	Matt Herkenhoff	Sr
RB		Buddy Holmes
RB		John Jones
WR		Mike Jones
RB		John King
QB		John Lawing
RB		Larry Powell
OL		Jeff Selleck
OL		Greg Shoff
OT	`71`	Dave Simonson	Sr
RB	`40`	Rick Upchurch	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB		Ollie Bakken
DB	`22`	Doug Beaudoin	So
DB		Greg Engebos
DB		Orville Gilmore
LB		Paul Glanton
DL		Jeff Gunderson
DE	`97`	Steve Neils	Sr
DB		Todd Randall
DL		Keith Simons
LB		Mike Steldl

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Steve Goldberg

Head coach

Cal Stoll

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2018-03-11

References

^ "1973 Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
^ Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), pp. 179–182
^ Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 160
^ Palm Beach Post. 1973 Nov 4.
^ "Gophers Shock Purdue." Palm Beach Post. 1973 Nov 11.

[1] "1973 Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 1, 2017.

[JK-2] Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), pp. 179–182

[pg160-3] Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 160

[4] Palm Beach Post. 1973 Nov 4.

[5] "Gophers Shock Purdue." Palm Beach Post. 1973 Nov 11.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]


1	IOWA	Jensen 3-yard run (Kokolus kick)	Iowa 7–0

1	MINN	Powell 46-yard run (kick failed)	Iowa 7–6

1	IOWA	Jensen 54-yard run (Kokolus kick)	Iowa 14–6

2	MINN	Lawing 1-yard run (Henrickson pass from Lawing)	Tie 14–14

2	IOWA	Kokolus 22-yard field goal	Iowa 17–14

2	MINN	Upchurch 3-yard run (Sims pass from Dungy)	Minnesota 22–17

3	IOWA	Fetter 10-yard pass from Ousley (pass failed)	Iowa 23–22

3	MINN	Safety	Minnesota 24–23

4	MINN	Dungy 10-yard run (Goldberg kick)	Minnesota 31–23


1	NW	Craig 18-yard pass from Anderson (Blazevich kick)	Northwestern 7-0

1	MINN	J. Jones 4-yard run (Goldberg kick)	Tie 7-7

2	NW	Craig 19-yard pass from Anderson (Blazevich kick)	Northwestern 14-7

2	MINN	Upchurch 5-yard run (Goldberg kick)	Tie 14-14

2	MINN	Upchurch 5-yard run (Goldberg kick)	Minnesota 21-14

3	NW	Stevens 21-yard pass from Anderson (Blazevich kick)	Tie 21-21

3	MINN	M. Jones 40-yard pass from Lawing (Goldberg kick)	Minnesota 28-21

3	MINN	M. Jones 48-yard pass from Lawing (Goldberg kick)	Minnesota 35-21

3	MINN	Lawing 5-yard run (Goldberg kick)	Minnesota 42-21

3	NW	Key 12-yard run (Blazevich kick)	Minnesota 42-28

4	MINN	Goldberg 35-yard field goal	Minnesota 45-28

4	NW	Harris 13-yard pass from Anderson (Blazevich kick)	Minnesota 45-35

4	MINN	M. Jones 48-yard pass from Lawing (Goldberg kick)	Minnesota 52-35

4	NW	Frederickson 20-yard pass from Anderson (Harris pass from Anderson)	Minnesota 52-43


1	MINN	John Lawing 1-yard run (Steve Goldberg kick)	MINN 7-0

1	MINN	Goldberg 32-yard field goal	MINN 10-0

1	MINN	Rick Upchurch 21-yard run (Steve Goldberg kick)	MINN 17-0

2	MINN	John Lawing 1-yard run (Steve Goldberg kick)	MINN 24-0

2	MINN	Steve Goldberg 43-yard field goal	MINN 27-0

3	PUR	Bobrowski 1-yard run (Conner kick)	MINN 27-7

4	MINN	Holmes 1-yard run (Steve Goldberg kick)	MINN 34-7

Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Venues	Athletic Park (1892–1898) University of Minnesota Armory (1892–1898) Northrop Field (1899–1923) Memorial Stadium (1924–1981) Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (1982–2008) Huntington Bank Stadium (2009–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Iowa Michigan: Little Brown Jug Nebraska Penn State: Governor's Victory Bell Wisconsin
Culture & lore	Goldy Gopher Marching band Spirit squad "Minnesota Rouser" "Minnesota March" "Go Gopher Victory" "Minnesota Fight" "Our Minnesota" "Hail! Minnesota" "Battle Hymn of the Republic" Minnesota shift T formation Smith of Minnesota
People	Head coaches Annual awards NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1882 1883 1884–1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold