1973 Sugar Bowl
1973 Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Date | December 31, 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Season | 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stadium | Tulane Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
Location | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Tom Clements, Notre Dame QB | ||||||||||||||||||||
Favorite | Alabama by 6½ points [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Referee | Gene Calhoun (Big Ten) (split crew: Big Ten, SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 85,161 | ||||||||||||||||||||
United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Chris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson, and Howard Cosell | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nielsen ratings | 25.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 1973 Sugar Bowl, part of the 1973 bowl game season, took place on December 31, 1973, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. The top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) met the independent Notre Dame Fighting Irish; both teams were undefeated.[2][3][4]
Underdog Notre Dame won 24–23;[2][3][5] the game received a 25.3 Nielsen rating, making it one of the highest-rated college football games in history.[6]
Teams[]
Alabama[]
Alabama completed the 1973 regular season with an 11–0 record, as conference champions and as national champions as determined by the final UPI coaches poll, released in early December.[7][8] Following their victory over Auburn, university officials announced they accepted an invitation to play in the Sugar Bowl.[9] The appearance marked the sixth for Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, their 27th overall bowl game appearance and their first all-time meeting against Notre Dame.[9]
Notre Dame[]
Notre Dame finished the regular season with a 10–0 record. Following their victory over Miami, university officials announced they accepted an invitation to play in the Sugar Bowl.[9] The appearance marked the first for Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, and their fifth overall bowl game appearance.
Game summary[]
With a cold rain falling, Notre Dame opened the scoring with a Wayne Bullock 6-yard touchdown run, and after a missed extra point took an early 6–0 lead.[10] In the second quarter, Alabama took the lead on a 6-yard Randy Billingsley touchdown run, only to see the Irish go up 14–7 on the following play. The ensuing kickoff was returned 93-yards for a touchdown by Al Hunter.[10] The Tide cut the lead to 14–10 late in the quarter on a 39-yard Bill Davis field goal.[10]
In the third quarter, the teams traded touchdowns with Alabama scoring first on a 5-yard Wilbur Jackson touchdown run and Notre Dame on a 12-yard Eric Penick touchdown run to make the score 21–17 entering the final period.[10] After quarterback Richard Todd made a 25-yard touchdown reception from Mike Stock on a trick play, Davis missed the extra point to only put Alabama up 23–21.[10] The Irish responded with a 19-yard field goal by Bob Thomas to take the lead 24–23 with 4:26 remaining in the game.[10]
Late in the fourth quarter, Alabama pinned Notre Dame back deep in Irish territory with a punt, hoping to get the ball back within easy range of a game-winning field goal. During the punt, the Alabama punter was run into and Notre Dame was flagged with a 15-yard roughing the kicker personal foul. In 1973, a personal foul wasn't an automatic first down in college football, so since it occurred on a 3rd and 20, accepting the penalty would have given Alabama a fourth and 5 on their own 45 yard line, only down one with mere minutes remaining. Coach Bear Bryant, knowing even a safety would win the game, decided to decline the penalty and try to stop Notre Dame who had to start on their own 1 yard line. Bryant's strategy seemed ready to pay off when his defense stymied Notre Dame on two plays and forced 3rd and 10 on their 1 yard line. However, on third and long Irish QB Tom Clements connected with backup TE Robin Weber on a long pass that gave the Irish a first down and allowed them to run out the clock. With their victory, the Associated Press awarded the Irish the national championship in ranking them first in their final poll.[11]
Scoring summary[]
Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References[]
- ^ "Bama's air threat has Ara worried". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. December 31, 1973. p. 2, part 2.
- ^ a b "Irish tip 'Bama, they're No. 1". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. January 1, 1974. p. 1, part 2.
- ^ a b "Irish best in country?". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1974. p. 21.
- ^ Underwood, John (January 13, 1974). "With contempt for caution". Sports Illustrated. p. 70.
- ^ "Notre Dame broke up Alabama wishbone". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). January 2, 1974. p. 37.
- ^ Pennington, Bill (December 8, 2012). "Before Computer Rankings and the Superdome, There Was Notre Dame vs. Alabama in the 1973 Sugar Bowl". The New York Times.
- ^ "Tide tops both polls". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI/AP. December 4, 1973. p. 20.
- ^ "Alabama wins National Title in UPI Poll". The Los Angeles Times. UPI. December 5, 1973. p. B3. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
- ^ a b c Reed, Delbert (November 17, 1973). "It's official: Tide-Irish in Sugar Bowl". The Tuscaloosa News. p. B1. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "1973 Sugar Bowl". 2010 Notre Dame Football Supplement (PDF). South Bend, IN: Notre Dame Athletics Media Relations. 2010. p. 116. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
- ^ "Final word in polls: Notre Dame #1". The Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. January 3, 1974. p. 13. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
- 1973–74 NCAA football bowl games
- Sugar Bowl
- Alabama Crimson Tide football bowl games
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish football bowl games
- 1973 in sports in Louisiana
- December 1973 sports events in the United States