Two human polls comprised the 1973 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.
Legend Increase in ranking Decrease in ranking Not ranked previous week National champion Win–loss record Number of first place votes Tied with team above or below also with this symbol
AP Poll
Final Coaches Poll This was the last season in which the final UPI Coaches Poll was released prior to the bowl games, in early December. Alabama received 21 of the 34 first-place votes; Oklahoma received nine, Ohio State two, Notre Dame one, and Michigan one. Ranking Team Conference Bowl 1 Alabama SEC Lost Sugar, 23–24 2 Oklahoma Big Eight none 3 Ohio State Big Ten Won Rose, 42–21 4 Notre Dame Independent Won Sugar, 24–23 5 Penn State Independent Won Orange, 16–9 6 Michigan Big Ten none 7 USC Pac-8 Lost Rose, 21–42 8 Texas Southwest Lost Cotton, 3–19 9 UCLA Pac-8 none 10 Arizona State WAC Won Fiesta, 28–711 Nebraska Big Eight Won Cotton, 19–3 Texas Tech Southwest Won Gator, 28–19 13 Houston Independent Won Bluebonnet, 47–7 14 LSU SEC Lost Orange, 9–1615 Kansas Big Eight Lost Liberty, 18–31 Tulane Independent Lost Bluebonnet, 7–47 17 Miami (OH) Mid-American Won Tangerine, 16–7 18 Maryland ACC Lost Peach, 16–1719 San Diego State PCAA none Florida SEC Lost Tangerine, 7–16 Prior to the 1975 season, the Big Ten and Pac-8 conferences allowed only one postseason participant each, for the Rose Bowl.
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