1973 college football season The 1973 college football season was the first for the NCAA ' s current three - division structure . Effective with the 1973 – 74 academic year , schools formerly in the NCAA " University Division " were classified as Division I ( later subdivided for football only into today ' s Division I FBS and Division I FCS ) . Schools in the former " College Division " were classified into Division II , which allowed fewer athletic scholarship s than Division I , and Division III , in which athletic scholarships were prohibited . In its inaugural season , Division I had two NCAA - recognized national champions , and they faced each other at year ' s end in the Sugar Bowl . The New Orleans game matched two unbeaten teams , the Alabama Crimson Tide ( 11 - 0 - 0 ) , ranked # 1 by AP and UPI , and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish ( 10 – 0 ) , ranked # 3 by AP and # 4 by UPI . While both wire services ranked Alabama # 1 at the end of the regular season , AP took another poll after the bowl games . By agreement with the American Football Coaches ' Association , however , UPI bestowed its championship before the postseason bowl games . Thus , Alabama was crowned champion by UPI on December 4 , 1973 . UPI ranked Notre Dame # 4 . One coach had given the Irish a first place vote , compared to 21 for Alabama . In a game where the lead changed six times , Notre Dame won by a single point , 24 – 23 , to claim the national championship . During the 20th Century , the NCAA had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as " Division I - A " . The NCAA Football Guide , however , did note an " unofficial national champion " based on the top ranked teams in the " wire service " ( AP and UPI ) polls . The " writers ' poll " by Associated Press ( AP ) was the most popular , followed by the " coaches ' poll " by United Press International ) ( UPI ) . In 1973 , the UPI issued its final poll before the bowls , but the AP Trophy was withheld until the postseason was completed . The AP poll in 1973 consisted of the votes of as many as 63 sportswriters and broadcasters , though not all of them voted in every poll . UPI ' s voting was made by 34 coaches . Those who cast votes would give their opinion of the ten best teams . Under a point system of 20 points for first place , 19 for second , etc . , the " overall " ranking was determined . # 5 Michigan won at Michigan State , 31 - 0 . # 6 Oklahoma beat # 13 Texas 52 - 13 in Dallas # 7 Penn State beat visiting Army , 54 - 3 , to extend its record to 5 - 0 - 0 and rise to the top five . The poll : 1 . Ohio State 2 . Alabama 3 . Oklahoma 4 . Michigan 5 . Penn State 1 . Ohio State 2 . Alabama 3 . Oklahoma 4 . Michigan 5 . Penn State 1 . Ohio State 2 . Alabama 3 . Oklahoma 4 . Michigan 5 . Notre Dame December . In the final regular season poll , the top six schools were unbeaten . 1 . Alabama ( 11 - 0 ) 2 . 2 . Notre Dame ( 10 - 0 ) 3 . Oklahoma ( 10 - 0 - 1 ) 4 . Ohio State ( 9 - 0 - 1 ) 5 . Michigan ( 10 - 0 - 1 ) and 6 . Penn State ( 11 - 0 ) . The other major college unbeaten , Miami ( Ohio ) ( 10 - 0 - 0 ) , was # 15 . Oklahoma , however , was on probation for having used an ineligible player in three 1972 games , and was ineligible to play in a bowl game . # 1 Alabama and # 2 Notre Dame accepted invitations to play in the Sugar Bowl . Conference standings . The following is an incomplete list of conference standings : Bowl games . Major bowls . Alabama and Notre Dame had never met in a college football game before their encounter in the Sugar Bowl , which was played on December 31 , 1973 . Two legendary coaches , Bear Bryant and Ara Parseghian brought their teams to New Orleans , and the game was a thriller . The Irish scored first , but missed the extra point . After Alabama took a 7 – 6 lead , freshman Al Hunter returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown , and a two point conversion put Notre Dame up 14 – 7 . Alabama went ahead 17 – 14 in the third , but a fumble on their own 12 yard line gave the Irish a chance to make it 21 – 17 . In the fourth quarter , Bama got back the lead on a trick play , as quarterback Richard Todd handed off to running back , Mike Stock , who then fired a touchdown pass back to Todd ; but Bill Davis , who had made 51 of 53 extra point attempts in his career , was wide right , and the score stayed 23 – 21 . In the final minutes , Notre Dame ' s Bob Thomas ( who had missed the earlier point after try ) kicked a 19 yard field goal that gave the team the 24 - 23 win . Asked whether Notre Dame would be voted # 1 , Coach Parseghian replied , " Certainly . What was the final score ? " The final AP writers ' poll was split . Notre Dame received a majority of the first place votes , 33 out of 60 , followed by # 2 Ohio State ( 11 votes ) and # 3 Oklahoma ( 16 votes , but fewer points overall ) . The # 4 spot ( held by Notre Dame in the final UPI poll ) went to Alabama . UPI , whose crowning of Alabama as national champion proved to be premature , began holding the coaches ' poll after the bowl games beginning with the 1974 season . Other champions . Beginning in 1973 , the NCAA sponsored playoffs to determine the championship for football teams in Division II and Division III . The NAIA had held a championship playoff since 1956 , and operated two divisions from 1970 to 1996 . Heisman Trophy . John Cappelletti had the third best year in Penn State history when he gained 1 , 117 yards rushing in 1972 . In 1973 , he had the second best year in Penn State history rushing for 1 , 522 yards . In his two - year running career , he gained 100 yards in the thirteen games and had a career total of 2 , 639 yards and twenty - nine touchdowns for an average of 120 yards per game and 5 . 1 yards per carry . John ' s acceptance speech at the Heisman Dinner ( with Vice President Gerald Ford next to him on the dais ) was considered the most moving ever given at these ceremonies , as he honored his brother Joey , a victim of leukemia .