1973 Utah Utes football team

The 1973 Utah Utes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Utah during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. In his sixth and final season as head coach, Bill Meek led the Utes to a 4–2 mark in the WAC and 7–5 overall.

1973 Utah Utes football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
1973 record	7–5 (4–2 WAC)
Head coach	Bill Meek (6th season)
Defensive coordinator	Jim LaRue (6th season)
Home stadium	Rice Stadium

1973 Western Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 9 Arizona State +	6	–	1	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
Arizona +	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Utah	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
BYU	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
New Mexico	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Wyoming	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Colorado State	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
UTEP	0	–	7	–	0			0	–	11	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Five weeks after the season ended, Meek resigned in early January 1974.[1] Defensive line coach Tom Lovat, a 35-year-old alumnus from Bingham, was retained for the interim for recruiting continuation,[2] and was promoted later that month.[3][4][5]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 15	at No. 20 Texas Tech*	Jones Stadium Lubbock, Texas	L 22–29
September 22	UTEP	Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, Utah	W 82–6
September 29	at Oregon*	Autzen Stadium Eugene, Oregon	W 35–17
October 6	at No. 16 UCLA*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, California	L 16–66
October 13	Wyoming	Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, Utah	W 50–16
October 20	at San Jose State*	Spartan Stadium San Jose, California	W 28–21
October 27	at Arizona	Arizona Stadium Tucson, Arizona	L 21–42
November 3	No. 8 Arizona State	Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, Utah	W 36–31
November 10	at New Mexico	University Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico	W 36–35
November 17	Utah State*	Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, Utah (rivalry)	W 31–28
November 24	BYU	Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, Utah (rivalry)	L 22–46
December 1	at Hawaii*	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, Hawaii	L 6–7
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll

Source:[6][7]

Roster

1973 Utah Utes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 19 Don Van Galder Sr RB 22 Ike Spencer Jr FL 25 Steve Odom Sr TE 45 Willie Armstead Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 72 Gary Keller Sr DT 79 Ron Rydalch Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Bill Meek (6th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Jim LaRue (DC) Gene Dahlquist Tom Lovat Jeff Fries Dale Johnson Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source:[1][8]

NFL draft

Four Utes were selected in the 1974 NFL Draft, which lasted seventeen rounds (442 selections).

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Steve Odom	Wide receiver	5th	116	Green Bay Packers
Ron Rydalch	Defensive tackle	8th	197	New York Jets
Gary Keller	Defensive tackle	13th	337	Minnesota Vikings
Don Van Galder	Quarterback	14th	361	Washington Redskins

Source:[9][10]

References

1. Miller, Hack (January 5, 1974). "Search on for U. coach". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 6A.
2. "Ute brass braced for applications". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). January 7, 1974. p. B9.
3. Ferguson, George (January 25, 1974). "Lovat, Riehlman top Ute list". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. D1.
4. "Lovat gets Utah's grid post". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). January 26, 1974. p. 6A.
5. Rock, Brad (January 24, 1997). "Lovat, like U. football, moved to better days". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. D1.
6. "Ute Record Book" (PDF). University of Utah. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
7. "1973 record". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
8. "Oregon-Utah lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). September 29, 1973. p. 4B.
9. "Odom goes in 5th round". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. January 30, 1974. p. D1.
10. "Several area stars taken in grid draft". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. January 31, 1974. p. 2D.