The 1973 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Woody Hayes, and the 1973 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Bo Schembechler, compiled identical 10–0–1 records and tied for the Big Ten championship. Ohio State was ranked No. 2 in the final AP Poll, and Michigan was ranked No. 6. Ohio State led the conference in both scoring offense (37.5 points per game) and scoring defense (5.8 points allowed per game).
The regular season ended with a 10–10 tie between Michigan and Ohio State. When the game ended in a tie, the Big Ten athletic directors voted, 6–4, to send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl. Michigan athletic officials and fans were outraged, with even the Vice President of the United States, Gerald Ford, speaking out against the decision. Ohio State defeated USC, 42–21, in the 1974 Rose Bowl. Two selectors, the National Championship Foundation and the Poling System, recognize Michigan as a co-national champion for the 1973 season.
Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1973 season[1]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1973 season[1]
PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1]
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold[2]
Pre-season
Four Big Ten teams changed head coaches between the 1972 and 1973 seasons, as follows:
Duffy Daugherty retired as Michigan State's head football coach at the end of the 1972 season. Denny Stolz, who had been the Spartans' defensive coordinator for two years, took over as head coach.
Bob DeMoss was replaced by Alex Agase as Purdue's head coach. Agase had been Northwestern's head coach from 1964 to 1972.
Agase was replaced as Northwestern's head coach by John Pont. Pont had been Indiana's head coach from 1965 to 1972.
Pont was replaced as Indiana's head coach by Lee Corso. Corso had been the head coach at Louisville from 1969 to 1972.
Regular season
September 15
On September 15, 1973, the Big Ten football teams opened the season with five conference games.
Ohio State 56, Minnesota 7
Michigan 31, Iowa 7
Illinois 28, Indiana 14
Northwestern 14, Michigan State 10
Purdue 14, Wisconsin 13
September 22
On September 22, 1973, the Big Ten teams played nine non-conference games, resulting in four wins and five losses. Ohio State had a bye week.
Michigan 47, Stanford 10
Minnesota 41, North Dakota 14
Illinois 27, California 7
Michigan State 14, Syracuse 8
Miami (OH) 24, Purdue 19
Colorado 28, Wisconsin 25
Notre Dame 44, Northwestern 0
UCLA 55, Iowa 18
Arizona 26, Indiana 10
September 29
On September 29, 1973, the Big Ten teams played 10 non-conference games, resulting in three wins and seven losses.
Ohio State 37, TCU 3
Michigan 14, Navy 0
Kansas 34, Minnesota 19
West Virginia 17, Illinois 10
UCLA 34, Michigan State 21
Notre Dame 20, Purdue 7
Nebraska 20, Wisconsin 16
Pittsburgh 21, Northwestern 14
Penn State 27, Iowa 8
Indiana 17, Kentucky 3
October 6
On October 6, 1973, the Big Ten teams played 10 non-conference games, resulting in five wins and five losses. After concluding three weeks of non-conference play, the Big Ten teams had compiled a 12–17 non-conference record.
Ohio State 27, Washington State 3
Michigan 24, Oregon 0
Nebraska 48, Minnesota 7
Stanford 24, Illinois 0
Notre Dame 14, Michigan State 10
Purdue 27, Duke 7
Wisconsin 37, Wyoming 28
Ohio 14, Northwestern 12
Arizona 23, Iowa 20
Indiana 28, West Virginia 14
October 13
On October 13, 1973, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
Ohio State 24, Wisconsin 0
Michigan 31, Michigan State 0
Minnesota 24, Indiana 3
Illinois 15, Purdue 13
Northwestern 31, Iowa 15
October 20
On October 20, 1973, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
Ohio State 37, Indiana 7
Michigan 35, Wisconsin 6
Minnesota 31, Iowa 23
Illinois 6, Michigan State 3
Purdue 21, Northwestern 10
October 27
On October 27, 1973, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
Ohio State 60, Northwestern 0
Michigan 34, Minnesota 7
Illinois 50, Iowa 0
Michigan State 10, Purdue 7
Wisconsin 31, Indiana 7
November 3
On November 3, 1973, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
Ohio State 30, Illinois 0
Michigan 49, Indiana 13
Minnesota 52, Northwestern 43
Michigan State 21, Wisconsin 0
Purdue 48, Iowa 23
November 10
On November 10, 1973, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
Ohio State 35, Michigan State 0
Michigan 21, Illinois 6
Minnesota 34, Purdue 7
Wisconsin 35, Iowa 7
Northwestern 21, Indiana 20
November 17
On November 17, 1973, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
Ohio State 55, Iowa 13
Michigan 34, Purdue 9
Minnesota 19, Illinois 16
Michigan State 10, Indiana 9
Wisconsin 36, Northwestern 34
November 24
On November 24, 1973, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
On January 1, 1974, Ohio State (ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll) defeated USC (ranked No. 7), 42–21. Pete Johnson scored three touchdowns, and Archie Griffin capped the scoring with a 47-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
At the end of the 1973 season, Big Ten players secured four of the consensus first-team picks for the 1973 College Football All-America Team.[5] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:
