1973 Stanford Cardinals football team

1973 Stanford Cardinals football
1973 Stanford Cardinals football
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Record	7–4 (5–2 Pac-8)
Head coach	Jack Christiansen (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Robert A. Jones (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Norb Hecker (2nd season)
Captains	Mike Boryla; Randy Poltl;
Home stadium	Stanford Stadium

1973 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 8 USC $	7	–	0	–	0	9	–	2	–	1
No. 12 UCLA	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Washington State	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
California	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Oregon	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Oregon State	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Washington	0	–	7	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1973 Stanford Cardinals football team represented Stanford University in the Pacific-8 Conference during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. Led by second-year head coach Jack Christiansen, the Cardinals were 7–4 overall (5–2 in Pac-8, third) and played home games on campus at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. The Pac-8 did not allow a second bowl team until the 1975 season.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	12:50 p.m.	No. 7 Penn State*	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	ABC	L 6–20	57,000
September 22	10:30 a.m.	at No. 5 Michigan*	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI		L 10–47	80,177	^[1]
September 29	1:30 p.m.	San Jose State*	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)		W 23–12	47,500
October 6	12:57 p.m.	at Illinois*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL		W 24–0	45,383
October 13	1:35 p.m.	No. 15 UCLA	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA		L 13–59	55,000
October 20	1:30 p.m.	at Washington	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA		W 23–14	51,500
October 27	1:35 p.m.	Washington State	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA		W 45–14	48,000
November 3	1:30 p.m.	at Oregon State	Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR		W 24–23	17,025
November 10	1:30 p.m.	at No. 8 USC	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)		L 26–27	63,806
November 17	1:30 p.m.	Oregon	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA		W 24–7	21,000
November 24	1:35 p.m.	California	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (Big Game)		W 26–17	67,000
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

^[2]

Game summaries

Penn State

Michigan

San Jose State

Illinois

UCLA

Washington

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Stanford	6	7	3	7	23
Washington	0	0	0	14	14

Date: October 20
Location: Husky Stadium, Seattle, Washington
Game attendance: 51,500

Source:^[3]

Washington State

Oregon State

USC

Oregon

California

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
California	3	0	7	7	17
• Stanford	0	3	10	13	26

Date: November 24
Location: Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California
Game attendance: 67,000

Junior running back Scott Laidlaw gained 132 yards on 23 carries while Rod Garcia finished his career with 42 field goals, and NCAA record, and 18 for the season, which tied the NCAA record. Stanford played most of the second half without starting quarterback Mike Boryla, who left the game with a bruised throwing arm.^[4]

Roster

1973 Stanford Cardinal football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`12`	Mike Boryla (C)	Sr
WR	`47`	Tony Hill	Fr
RB	`33`	Scott Laidlaw	Jr
QB	`19`	Dave Ottmar	Sr
WR	`21`	Bill Singler	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DE	`83`	Pat Donovan	Jr
SS	`36`	Randy Poltl (C)	Sr
DT	`91`	Roger Stillwell	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`14`	Rod Garcia	Sr
P	`19`	Dave Ottmar	Sr

Head coach

Jack Christiansen (2nd year)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

David Currey – Offensive back
Pete Kettela – Receivers
Hudson Houck – Offensive line
Norb Hecker – Defensive Coordinator & defensive line
Ray Handley – Linebacker
George Seifert – Defensive back
Bill Moultrie – Special Teams Coordinator
Gunther Cunningham – Assistant

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

^[5]

All-conference

Five Stanford players were named to the All-Pac-8 team: quarterback Mike Boryla, wide receiver Bill Singler, defensive tackle Roger Stillwell, safety Randy Poltl, and kicker Rod Garcia; Singler and Stillwell were juniors.^[6]^[7]

NFL draft

Six Stanford seniors were selected in the 1974 NFL draft.

References

^ Curt Sylvester (September 23, 1973). "Sweet Revenge! U-M Rips Stanford; 6-TD Parade, 47–10". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E, 9E. Retrieved June 27, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Schedule/Results (1973 Stanford)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
^ "Garcia kick helps Cards whip Huskies". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 21, 1973. p. 2B.
^ "Cards rally behind Laidlaw". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 25, 1973. p. 6D.
^ "The lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). November 3, 1973. p. 2B.
^ "Three Ducks on Pac-8 unit". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). December 2, 1973. p. 3B.
^ "Three Cougars land on All-Pac-8 squad". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). December 3, 1973. p. 17.

[1] Curt Sylvester (September 23, 1973). "Sweet Revenge! U-M Rips Stanford; 6-TD Parade, 47–10". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E, 9E. Retrieved June 27, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "Schedule/Results (1973 Stanford)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 25, 2025.

[grckx-3] "Garcia kick helps Cards whip Huskies". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 21, 1973. p. 2B.

[crrlly-4] "Cards rally behind Laidlaw". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 25, 1973. p. 6D.

[rhlups-5] "The lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). November 3, 1973. p. 2B.

[trduc-6] "Three Ducks on Pac-8 unit". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). December 2, 1973. p. 3B.

[tclonall-7] "Three Cougars land on All-Pac-8 squad". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). December 3, 1973. p. 17.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]


1	STAN	Garcia 37-yard field goal	Stanford 3–0

1	STAN	Garcia 38-yard field goal	Stanford 6–0

2	STAN	Test 10-yard pass from Boryla (Garcia kick)	Stanford 13–0

3	STAN	Garcia 47-yard field goal	Stanford 16–0

4	WASH	Phillips 46-yard pass from Rowland (Boyd kick)	Stanford 16–7

4	WASH	Rowland 1-yard run (Boyd kick)	Stanford 16–14

4	STAN	Laidlaw 8-yard run (Garcia kick)	Stanford 23–14


1	CAL	VanderMeer 41-yard field goal	CAL 3-0

2	STAN	Garcia 36-yard field goal	Tied 3-3

3	CAL	Muncie 15-yard run (VanderMeer kick)	CAL 10-3

3	STAN	Jena 8-yard run (Garcia kick)	Tied 10-10

3	STAN	Garcia 37-yard field goal	STAN 13-10

4	CAL	Ferragamo 1-yard run (VanderMeer kick)	CAL 17-13

4	STAN	Inge 3-yard run (kick failed)	STAN 19-17

4	STAN	Laidlaw 10-yard run (Garcia kick)	STAN 26-17

Stanford Cardinal football
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