1973 Kentucky Wildcats football team

The 1973 Kentucky Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. In their first season under head coach Fran Curci, the Wildcats compiled a 5–6 record (3–4 against conference opponents) and finished in a three-way tie for fifth place in the SEC.[1]

1973 Kentucky Wildcats football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record5–6 (3–4 SEC)
Head coach
Home stadiumCommonwealth Stadium
1973 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Alabama $ 8 –0 –011 –1 –0
No. 13 LSU 5 –1 –09 –3 –0
Ole Miss 4 –3 –06 –5 –0
No. 19 Tennessee 3 –3 –08 –4 –0
Georgia 3 –4 –07 –4 –1
Florida 3 –4 –07 –5 –0
Kentucky 3 –4 –05 –6 –0
Auburn 2 –5 –06 –6 –0
Mississippi State 2 –5 –04 –5 –2
Vanderbilt 1 –5 –05 –6 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

This was Kentucky's first season playing at Commonwealth Stadium. The Wildcats christened the facility with a 31-26 victory vs. Virginia Tech in their season opener.

The team's statistical leaders included Sonny Collins with 1,213 rushing yards and 78 points scored, Mike Fanuzzi with 572 passing yards, and Elmore Stephens with 282 receiving yards.[2] Three Kentucky players received first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) and/or United Press International (UPI) on the 1973 All-SEC football team: Sonny Collins (AP, UPI); and end Jim McCollum (UPI); defensive back Darryl Bishop (UPI).[3][4]

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 15Virginia Tech
W 31–26> 48,000[5]
September 22Alabama
  • Commonwealth Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
L 14–2853,209
September 29at Indiana
L 3–1751,523
October 6at Mississippi State
W 42–14
October 13North Carolina
  • Commonwealth Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
L 10–16
October 20at LSU
L 21–28
October 27at Georgia
W 12–754,500
November 3Tulanedagger
  • Commonwealth Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
W 34–719,360[6]
November 10at Vanderbilt
W 27–17
November 17Florida
L 18–2055,328
November 24Tennessee
  • Commonwealth Stadium
  • Lexington, KY (rivalry)
L 14–1654,000[7]
  • daggerHomecoming

Roster

References
  1. "1973 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  2. "1973 Kentucky Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  3. "3 Gators Named All-SEC". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. December 6, 1973. Retrieved June 7, 2015 – via Google news archive. open access
  4. David Moffit (November 30, 1973). "Alabama Dominates All-SEC Team". Galveston Daily News. p. 9. Retrieved June 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. D.G. Fitzmaurice (September 16, 1973). "Kentucky Holds Off Late Tech Rally For 31-26 Win". The Lexington Herald. pp. 25, 40 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. D.G. Fitzmaurice (November 4, 1973). "Fanuzzi Can't 'Recall' Cats Bowling Over Tulane". Lexington Herald-Leader. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Rick Bailey (November 25, 1973). "Steele's Kick Falls Short And Kentucky's Hopes End As Vols Hang On 16-14". Lexington Herald-Leader – via Newspapers.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.