1973 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

The 1973 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. In their first season under head coach Frank R. Burns, the Scarlet Knights compiled a 6–5 record. The team outscored their opponents 245 to 208.^[1] The team's statistical leaders included John Piccirillo with 415 passing yards, J. J. Jennings with 1,353 rushing yards, and Tom Sweeney with 479 receiving yards.^[2]

1973 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Frank R. Burns (1st season)
Captains	Andrew Tighe John Witkowski
Home stadium	Rutgers Stadium
Seasons ← 1972 1974 →

1973 NCAA Division I independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame			–					11	–	0	–	0
No. 5 Penn State			–					12	–	0	–	0
No. 9 Houston			–					11	–	1	–	0
Temple			–					9	–	1	–	0
No. 20 Tulane			–					9	–	3	–	0
Memphis State			–					8	–	3	–	0
Tampa			–					8	–	3	–	0
Boston College			–					7	–	4	–	0
South Carolina			–					7	–	4	–	0
Utah State			–					7	–	4	–	0
Air Force			–					6	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss			–					6	–	4	–	1
Northern Illinois			–					6	–	5	–	0
Rutgers			–					6	–	5	–	0
West Virginia			–					6	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					6	–	5	–	1
Colgate			–					5	–	5	–	0
Dayton			–					5	–	5	–	1
Xavier			–					5	–	5	–	1
Georgia Tech			–					5	–	6	–	0
Holy Cross			–					5	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					5	–	6	–	0
Cincinnati			–					4	–	7	–	0
Marshall			–					4	–	7	–	0
Navy			–					4	–	7	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					3	–	7	–	1
Villanova			–					3	–	8	–	0
Syracuse			–					2	–	9	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					2	–	9	–	0
Army			–					0	–	10	–	0
Florida State			–					0	–	11	–	0
Lamar			–					5	–	5	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					3	–	7	–	1
Texas-Arlington			–					4	–	6	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 22		at Lehigh	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 31–13	12,000	[3]
September 29		at Princeton	Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ (rivalry)	W 39–14	27,000	[4]
October 6		UMass	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	L 22–25	11,000	[5]
October 13		Lafayette	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	W 35–6	10,000	[6]
October 20		Delaware	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	W 24–7	21,000	[7]
October 27		Columbia	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	W 28–2	16,500	[8]
November 3		at Connecticut	Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	L 19–27	13,793	[9]
November 10	3:02 p.m.	at Air Force	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	L 14–31	27,149	[10]
November 17		at Holy Cross	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 27–7	14,881	[11]
November 24		Colgate	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	L 0–42	12,000	[12]
December 1	7:38 p.m.	at Tampa	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	L 6–34	17,600	[13]
All times are in Eastern time

Roster

1973 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 88 Doug Davis Sr TE 81 Kent Hall Sr RB 36 Jim Jennings Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 21 Ed Jones Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach John F. Bateman Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt