1973 Northwestern Wildcats football team

The 1973 Northwestern Wildcats team represented Northwestern University in the 1973 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first year under head coach John Pont, the Wildcats compiled a 4–7 record (4–4 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and finished in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big Ten Conference.

1973 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	4–7 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Pont (1st season)
Captain	Stan Key
Home stadium	Dyche 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
Minnesota	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 team's offensive leaders were quarterback Mitch Anderson with 1,224 passing yards, Stan Key with 894 rushing yards, and Steve Craig with 479 receiving yards. Four Northwestern players received All-Big Ten honors. They are: (1) tight end Steve Craig (AP-1, UPI-1); (2) linebacker Mike Varty (AP-1, UPI-2); (3) quarterback Mitch Anderson (AP-2, UPI-2); and (4) running back Stan Key (AP-2).

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 15	Michigan State	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 14–10	27,305
September 22	at No. 8 Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	L 0–44	59,075
September 29	Pittsburgh*	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 14–21	24,462
October 6	Ohio*	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 12–14
October 13	Iowa	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 31–15	25,194
October 20	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 10–21	57,657
October 27	at No. 1 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 0–60	87,453
November 3	Minnesota	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 43–52	30,081
November 10	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	W 21–20	41,053
November 17	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 34–36	46,248
November 24	Illinois	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	W 9–6	26,117
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1973 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB Mitch Anderson RB Rich Boothe RB Greg Boykin TE Steve Craig WR Mike Darraugh OL Ray Felton OL James Foskett WR, P Wayne Frederickson QB Kim Girkins WR Steve Harris OL Donnie Haynes OL Paul Hiemenz RB 21 Stan Key (C) Sr OL Larry Lilja TE Frank Lutostanski WR Pat McNamara RB Jim Pooler WR Bill Stevens RB Jim Trimble TE Scott Yelvington	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB Steve Anenen DL Doug Belko DL Darryl Branford DB Charles Hickerson DL John Holliday DB Neil Little DL Paul Maly DL Rob Mason DB Ken Shaw DL Jamie Summerfelt DB Greg Swanson LB Mike Varty DB Pete Wessel	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach John Pont Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt