# 1973 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

The 1973 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1973 Big Ten Conference football season. This was Frank Lauterbur's third and final season as head coach. The team played its home games at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.
Despite the team's winless record (0–11), this team had players that experienced significant success in their football careers. Rod Walters was a first round draft pick, Joe Devlin was a second round pick and started 179 games in the NFL, and Jim Caldwell was an assistant coach on two Super Bowl champions and reached the Super Bowl as a head coach.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 15 | No. 5 Michigan | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | L 7–31 | 52,105 |
| September 22 | at No. 18 UCLA* | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | L 18–55 | 34,456 |
| September 29 | at No. 6 Penn State* | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA | L 8–27 | 59,980 |
| October 6 | Arizona* | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | L 20–23 | 40,365 |
| October 13 | at Northwestern | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | L 15–31 | 25,194 |
| October 20 | Minnesota | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA (rivalry) | L 23–31 | 55,137 |
| October 27 | at Illinois | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | L 0–50 | 48,864 |
| November 3 | Purdue | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | L 23–48 | 39,120 |
| November 10 | at Wisconsin | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | L 7–35 | 55,560 |
| November 17 | at No. 1 Ohio State | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | L 13–55 | 87,447 |
| November 24 | Michigan State | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | L 6–15 | 31,119 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||

## Game summaries
### No. 5 Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 5 Wolverines | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### at No. 18 UCLA

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hawkeyes | 10 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 18 |
| • No. 18 Bruins | 3 | 21 | 10 | 21 | 55 |

### at No. 6 Penn State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| • No. 6 Nittany Lions | 21 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 27 |

### Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Wildcats | 7 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 23 |
| Hawkeyes | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 20 |

### at Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 15 |
| • Wildcats | 14 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 31 |

### Minnesota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Golden Gophers | 6 | 16 | 2 | 7 | 31 |
| Hawkeyes | 14 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 23 |

### at Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Fighting Illini | 6 | 13 | 3 | 28 | 50 |

### Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Boilermakers | 14 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 48 |
| Hawkeyes | 7 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 23 |
Purdue freshman Mike Northington ran for 146 yards and tied a Big Ten-record with five touchdowns on 31 carries. Also of note, the Boilermakers scored their final touchdown with just 39 seconds remaining, attempting a failed two-point conversion after the score.

### at Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| • Badgers | 21 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 35 |
Wisconsin sophomore Billy Marek ran for 203 yards and 4 touchdowns.

### at No. 1 Ohio State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 |
| • No. 1 Buckeyes | 14 | 13 | 21 | 7 | 55 |
Ohio State sophomore Archie Griffin ran for 246 yards on 30 carries, establishing single-game and single-season school records for rushing yardage. Junior fullback Bruce Elia had 4 rushing touchdowns for the Buckeyes.

### Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Spartans | 0 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 15 |
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |

## Team players in the 1974 NFL draft

| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Dan Dickel | Linebacker | 7 | 170 | Baltimore Colts |