PROFILBARU.COM

1973 LSU Tigers football
1973 LSU Tigers football
Orange Bowl, L 9–16 vs. Penn State
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 14
AP	No. 13
Record	9–3 (5–1 SEC)
Head coach	Charles McClendon (12th season);
Home stadium	Tiger Stadium
	Seasons ← 1972 1974 →

1973 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Alabama $	8	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
No. 13 LSU	5	–	1	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Ole Miss	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
No. 19 Tennessee	3	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Georgia	3	–	4	–	0	7	–	4	–	1
Florida	3	–	4	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
Kentucky	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Auburn	2	–	5	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
Mississippi State	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	5	–	2
Vanderbilt	1	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1973 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University (LSU) as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. Led by 12th-year head coach Charles McClendon, the Tigers compiled an overall record of 9–3, with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, and finished second in the SEC.^[1]

After winning its first nine games, LSU accepted a bid to the Orange Bowl to face undefeated Penn State, which was on its way to its third undefeated season in six years.

The Orange Bowl's gamble backfired badly when the Tigers lost to Alabama on Thanksgiving night at home, then to Tulane in New Orleans, the Green Wave's first over its in-state rival since 1948. The Tigers' skid continued on New Year's night with a 16-9 loss to the Nittany Lions, foreshadowing a downturn which saw LSU post non-winning records in 1974 and 1975.

The game vs. Alabama would be the last non-Friday or Saturday game in Baton Rouge until the 2005 game vs. Tennessee was moved from Saturday to Monday due to the threat of Hurricane Rita.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	No. 10 Colorado*	No. 15	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 17–6	71,239	^[2]
September 22	Texas A&M*	No. 11	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)		W 28–23	68,394	^[3]
September 29	Rice*	No. 10	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 24–9	66,226	^[4]
October 6	Florida	No. 10	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)		W 24–3	66,974	^[5]
October 13	at Auburn	No. 10	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)		W 20–6	64,331	^[6]
October 20	Kentucky	No. 9	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 28–21	66,991	^[7]
October 27	at South Carolina*	No. 9	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC		W 33–29	51,039	^[8]
November 3	at Ole Miss	No. 7	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (rivalry)	ABC	W 51–14	47,222	^[9]
November 17	Mississippi State	No. 7	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)		W 26–7	66,536	^[10]
November 22	No. 2 Alabama	No. 7	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	ABC	L 7–21	67,748	^[11]
December 1	at Tulane*	No. 8	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA (Battle for the Rag)		L 0–14	86,598	^[12]
January 1, 1974	vs. No. 6 Penn State*	No. 13	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)	NBC	L 9–16	60,477	^[13]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[14]

Roster

1973 LSU Tigers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB		Ken Addy
OL		Doug Boutte
TE	`89`	Brad Boyd	Jr
OL		Richard Brooks
QB		Billy Broussard
OL		Clay Cain
WR		Al Coffee
RB	`48`	Brad Davis	Jr
TE		Bo Dunphy
WR		Joe Fakier
OL		Russel Heald
RB		Lora Hinton
WR		Norm Hodgins
WR		Ben Jones
OL		Logan Killen
G	`64`	Tyler LaFauci	Sr
QB	`5`	Mike Miley	Jr
RB		Terry Robiskie
RB		Don Roger
RB		Steve Rogers	Jr
WR		Richard Romain
TE		Leon Thompson
RB		Brian Zeringue

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB		Ken Bordelon	So
DB		Dale Cangelosi
LB		Warren Capone
DL		Steve Cassidy
LB		Gary Champagne
DL		Ron Daily
DB		Rand Dennis
DL		A.J. Duhe
LB	`80`	Bo Harris	Jr
DB		Norm Hodgins	Sr
DE	`91`	Binks Miciotto	Sr
DB		Mike Pike
DB		Frank Racine
CB	`29`	Mike Williams	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Rusty Jackson

Head coach

Charles McClendon

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

References

^ "1973 LSU Fighting Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
^ "Miley guides LSU to upset". The Palm Beach Post-Times. September 16, 1973. Retrieved October 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "LSU nudges Aggies". Express and News. September 23, 1973. Retrieved October 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "LSU overcomes pesky Owls 24–9". Wichita Falls Times. September 30, 1973. Retrieved October 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bayou Bengals bayonet Gators". St. Petersburg Times. October 7, 1973. Retrieved October 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Miley propels LSU past Auburn 20–6". The Courier-Journal. October 14, 1973. Retrieved October 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Second half doldrums thwart Kentucky again". Messenger-Inquirer. October 21, 1973. Retrieved October 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Battered LSU scratches 33–29 win over Carolina". The Greenville News. October 28, 1973. Retrieved October 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Tigs set back Ole Miss football 40 years". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. November 4, 1973. Retrieved October 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bowl-bound LSU stages 26–7 cruise". The Des Moines Register. November 18, 1973. Retrieved October 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Reed, Delbert (November 23, 1973). "Some Tide questions to be answered". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 11. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
^ "Greenies frustrated no more: LSU falls, 14–0". The Shreveport Times. December 2, 1973. Retrieved October 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Penn State a winner by 16 to 9". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 2, 1974. Retrieved October 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "2013 LSU Football Media Guide". p. 154. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2014.