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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 4265207, member: 289"] 1973 [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_NCAA_Division_I_football_rankings"]1973 NCAA Division I football rankings - Wikipedia[/URL] [URL="http://www.tiptop25.com/fixing1973.html"]Fixing the 1973 AP Poll[/URL] 1973 is a year that must be looked at if you think that a four-team playoff will always be the answer in college football. How about SIX undefeated power conference teams? What do you do with that? Alabama went 11-0-0 in the SEC and was ranked #1 in both polls after the regular season. I have a system for examining the power and consistency of historical teams. I call it ‘point differential rankings”: If you beat a team that lost only that one game, tied a team that went undefeated or beat a team by more than anyone else did – or lost by the smallest margin to a team that won all their games, you get a ‘1’: you were the best team that team played, (or tied for it), by point differential. If one team did better, you get a ‘2’. If two teams did better, you get a ‘3’ and so on. You add up the points for a team and divide by the number of opponents to get their average performance. No one since the wartime Army teams has anyone scored a perfect 1.00 – being the best team each of their opponents had played. An average post-war national championship team is around 2.38. Last year’s Georgia team was 1.64. The 1971 Nebraska team was 1.36. The 1972 Southern California team was 1.42. The 1995 Nebraska team was 1.25. The 1959 Syracuse team was 1.18. But the lowest, (best point differential ranking of any team in the post war era belongs to the 1973 Alabama team. They were the best team 10 of their 11 regular season opponents played, (12 points/11 opponents = 1.09). Their one problem was Notre Dame, who beat U of Miami 44-0 after the Tide had beaten them only 43-13. Then the Irish beat Bama 24-23 in the Sugar Bowl in one of the greatest games ever played. Even that was a ‘1’ for Alabama- no one else came that close to beating Notre Dame that year – so their final PDR was 1.08 (13/12). They out-scored their opponents 477-113 and retained a share of the poll championship because the UPI, (coaches) still didn’t vote after the bowls. (That would come the next years, the first where both polls included bowl game results.) Vautravers declares Oklahoma to have been the best team in 1973 – but not the national champion, which is not quite the same thing. He points out that every math formula has them as #1. But they had a tie to finish 10-0-1. The tied was to defending national champion Southern California, 7-7. That gives then essentially the same record as Nebraska’s 1970 national champions- they tied USC 21-21 and went 10-0-1, but Oklahoma’s strength of schedule was much higher, (also much higher than Bud Wilkinson’s teams of the 1950’s), and their performance in those games better than Nebraska ’70. They played 7 ranked opponents and were still another powerhouse Miami played, although the Canes played them much closer than Alabama or Notre Dame did, losing 20-24. The Sooners went off on a tear, winning every remaining game by at least 17 points and all but that one by at least 27 points. They outscored their opposition by a combined 400-133 (PDR: 1.82). They beat Texas 52-13 and Nebraska 27-0. One problem with the Sooners- they were on probation, both this year and the next. My own position on probation is that punishment should in the form of fines to the school that tolerated it and suspensions or banishment of individuals, not punishment of teams that likely no longer have the miscreant who caused the probation on them, so I have been including teams on probation in these LiMu tournaments. The UPI poll listed Oklahoma as the #2 team this year but did not list them in 19754, despite the fact that they were 11-0-0, so 1974 was when the coaches decided not to vote for a team on probation. Notre Dame was ranked #3 before the Sugar Bowl. They were 10-0-0 in the regular season but had only one win over a ranked team- Southern Cal, who they beat in South Bend, 23-14. They out-scored their opponents 382-89, (PDR: 2.00), including their epic 24-23 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, which had 6 lead changes and was decided due to a two point conversion and a daring pass from their own 1 yard line in the final seconds to get the AP (writer’s) national championship. Ohio State and Michigan crushed everyone they played, excluding each other. They played to a 10-10 tied, the same score as the famous 1966 Notre Dame - Michigan State game. Only one could go to the Rose Bowl and the other would have to stay home as the Big Ten had a rule that only their champion could go bowling. It was put to a vote of the athletic directors and the Buckeyes won the vote, largely because Michigan’s quarterback, Dennis Franklin, had been injured and was not available for the bowl. State put on the most impressive performance in the bowls, almost reversing their 17-42 loos to the Trojans the year before to a 42-21 score this time. In many eyes, including mine, they looked like the best team in the country. Both teams were 10-0-1. The Buckeyes outscored their opponents 413-64 (PDR 1.36). The Wolverines outscored theirs 330-68 (2.18) Then there was Penn State. Joe Paterno was in his familiar position of running the table against mostly Northeastern teams and finding themselves ranked lower than teams who had done the same thing in other sections. At least he had the Heisman Trophy winner, running back John Cappelletti, who handed the trophy to his younger brother, Joey, who was battling cancer. [MEDIA=youtube]Xfyz81vKUCk[/MEDIA] The Lions, as usual, faced a lesser opponent in a bowl, 13th ranked LSU, whom they beat 16-9 in the Orange Bowl, a game that provided them with little chance to advance in the rankings, although they were moved one spot ahead of Michigan, to 5th. They outscored their opposition 447-129 (2.33) They did get a terrific TV movie out of this season: Something for Joey, which I liked better than Brian’s Song, (even though it was about Penn State): [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Voopj4pqFDA"]Something for Joey ジョーイ　1977[/URL] Sugar Bowl: [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v6UPz8d9sI"]1973 Sugar Bowl highlights Notre Dame vs. Alabama[/URL] Rose Bowl: [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D4lKYBDKqA"]1974 Rose Bowl USC vs Ohio State No Huddle[/URL] Orange Bowl: No gots but I found this: [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNARx3pT8H0"]A Perfect Season-1973 Penn State Football Highlights[/URL] (The orange Bowl starts at 25:30) In the final polls, AP had Notre Dame #1, Ohio State #2, Oklahoma #3, Alabama #4, Penn State #5 and Michigan #6 while UPI still had Alabama #1, then Oklahoma, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State and Michigan. A four-team playoff would have cut into the bone of this situation. Five of the teams hadn’t lost and the one that had, Alabama, was one of the best team ever and had lost by a single point. I felt they should all be included, using the same plan I used in 1970: have #1 play #6, #2, play #5 and $3 play #4. Then the highest ranked remaining team would get a bye while the other two teams played each other. The winner of that game would play the team that got the bye for the championship. I’ll use the AP rankings because they include the bowl games. Thus, we’ll start with Notre Dame vs. Michigan, Ohio State vs. Penn State, and Oklahoma vs. Alabama. Let the battle of Brobdingnagians begin! Notre Dame vs. Michigan Notre Dame beat Purdue 20-7 who lost to Michigan 9-34 = +12 for Michigan Notre Dame beat Michigan State 14-10 who lost to Michigan 0-31 = +27 for Michigan Notre Dame beat Navy 44-7 who lost to Michigan 0-14 = +23 for Notre Dame Notre Dame beat Southern California 23-14 who beat Stanford 27-26 who lost to Michigan 10-47 = +27 for Michigan Notre Dame beat Air Force 48-15 who beat Oregon 24-17 who lost to Michigan 0-24 = +16 for Notre Dame Results: +27/5 = Michigan wins by 5 points Ohio State vs. Penn State Ohio State tied Michigan 10-10 who beat Wisconsin 35-6 who lost to Nebraska 16-20 who beat North Carolina State 31-14 who lost to Penn State 29-35 = +36 for Ohio State Ohio State beat Southern California 42-21 who beat Stanford 27-26 who lost to Penn State 6-20 = +8 for Ohio State Ohio State beat Minnesota 56-7 who beat Wisconsin 19-17 who lost to Colorado 25-28 who beat Air Force 38-17 who lost to Penn State 9-19 = +59 for Ohio State Ohio State beat Washington State 27-3 who lost to Kansas 8-29 who beat Colorado 17-15 who lost to LSU 6-17 who lost to 9-16 = +13 for Penn State Ohio State beat Michigan State 35-0 who beat Syracuse 14-8 who lost to Maryland 0-38 who lost to Penn State 22-42 = +17 for Penn State Result: +73/5 = Ohio State wins by 15 points. Oklahoma vs. Alabama Oklahoma tied Southern California 7-7 who beat Georgia Tech 23-6 who lost to 14-20 Tennessee who lost to Alabama 21-42 = +10 for Alabama Oklahoma beat Texas 52-13 who lost to U of Miami 15-20 who lost to Notre Dame 0-44 who lost to Alabama 23-24 = +11 for Alabama Oklahoma beat Missouri 31-3 who beat Auburn 34-17 who lost to LSU 6-20 who lost to 7-21 = +17 for Oklahoma Oklahoma beat Kansas 48-20 who beat Florida State 28-0 who lost to Florida 0-49 who lost to Alabama 14-35 = +14 for Alabama Oklahoma beat Nebraska 27-0 who beat North Carolina State 31-14 who lost to Georgia 12-31 who lost to Alabama 14-28 = +11 for Oklahoma Result: 7/5 = Alabama wins by a point. I decided that Ohio State and Michigan should resolve their tie, even though my procedure would have pitted Alabama and Michigan. Besides, this is easier. Ohio State vs. Michigan Ohio State tied Michigan 10-10 = Even Ohio State beat Minnesota 56-7 who lost to Michigan 7-34 = +22 for Ohio State Ohio State beat Illinois 30-0 who lost to Michigan 6-21 = +15 for Ohio State Ohio State beat Michigan State 35-0 who lost to Michigan 0-31 = +4 for Ohio State Ohio State beat Wisconsin 24-0 who lost to Michigan 6-35 = +5 for Michigan Ohio State beat Indiana 37-7 who lost to Michigan 13-49 = +6 for Michigan Ohio State beat Iowa 55-13 who lost to Michigan 7-31 = +18 for Ohio State Result: +48/7 =Ohio State wins by 7 points. Ohio State vs. Alabama Ohio State tied Michigan 10-10 beat Navy 14-0 who lost to Tulane 15-17 who lost to LSU 0-14 who lost to Alabama 7-21 = +16 for Alabama Ohio State beat Southern California 42-21 who lost to Notre Dame 14-23 who beat Alabama 24-23 = +13 for Ohio State Ohio State beat Minnesota 56-7 who lost to Kansas 19-34 who beat Florida State 28-0 who lost to Florida 0-49 who lost to Alabama 14-35 = +8 for Alabama Ohio State beat Washington State 27-3 who beat Oregon State 13-7 who lost to Auburn 9-18 who lost to Tennessee 0-21 who lost to Alabama 21-42 = +21 Alabama Ohio State beat Illinois 30-0 who beat Indiana 28-14 who beat Kentucky 17-3 who beat Georgia 12-7 who lost to Alabama 14-28 = +49 for Ohio State Result: 17/5 = Ohio State wins the national championship by 3 points. [/QUOTE]

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