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. 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.

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

1973 NCAA Division I independents football records

	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
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
September 29		at Princeton	Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ (rivalry)	W 39–14	27,000
October 6		UMass	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	L 22–25	11,000
October 13		Lafayette	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	W 35–6	10,000
October 20		Delaware	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	W 24–7	21,000
October 27		Columbia	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	W 28–2	16,500
November 3		at Connecticut	Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	L 19–27	13,793
November 10	3:02 p.m.	at Air Force	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	L 14–31	27,149
November 17		at Holy Cross	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 27–7	14,881
November 24		Colgate	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	L 0–42	12,000
December 1	7:38 p.m.	at Tampa	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	L 6–34	17,600
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