LOOKING BACK: Tulane Football Posts Memorable 1973 Season
May 14, 2020 | Football
NEW ORLEANSÂ - As the Tulane University football team prepares for the upcoming 2020 season, TulaneGreenWave.com takes a look back at some of the best seasons in Green Wave history.
In this week's edition of Looking Back, TulaneGreenWave.com examines the 1973 Tulane Green Wave football team which finished with a 9-3 record and a final ranking of No. 15 in the UPI College Football Poll.Â
The team's final regular season win of the year, featured a convincing 14-0 win over LSU. Listed below is an in-depth look at the 1973 Green Wave football team.Â
RECAPPING THE 1973 GREEN WAVE
Coach Bennie Ellender fielded his most successful football team in 1973, as quarterback Steve Foley and All-America defensive tackle Charles Hall led the way to a 9-2 regular season and an invitation to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston.
The Green Wave won its first six games for the school's best start since 1934, but the highlight of the year was the season finale with LSU. In that game, the Green Wave beat the Tigers for the first time since 1948, taking a 14-0 win before a beyond-capacity crowd of 86,598 in Tulane Stadium.
Foley led the 1973 team in both passing and rushing and was named MVP at season's end. He ran for two TDs in the season opener with Boston College, broke a 72-yard TD run to start off a rout over VMI, threw the winning TD pass with nine seconds left against Duke and scampered for 181 yards (the most ever by a Tulane QB) against Vanderbilt to clinch the bowl bid.
Hall and sophomore middle guard Mark Olivari created havoc in the middle of the defensive line and junior linebacker Rusty Chambers made 153 tackles as five opponents were held to six points or less. The defense shut out VMI, North Carolina and LSU. It was a year to remember, as only the 1931 and 1934 teams had won more games in one season. In the bowl game against Houston, Tulane dropped a 47-7 decision to an explosive Cougar squad.
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In this week's edition of Looking Back, TulaneGreenWave.com examines the 1973 Tulane Green Wave football team which finished with a 9-3 record and a final ranking of No. 15 in the UPI College Football Poll.Â
The team's final regular season win of the year, featured a convincing 14-0 win over LSU. Listed below is an in-depth look at the 1973 Green Wave football team.Â
RECAPPING THE 1973 GREEN WAVE
Coach Bennie Ellender fielded his most successful football team in 1973, as quarterback Steve Foley and All-America defensive tackle Charles Hall led the way to a 9-2 regular season and an invitation to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston.
The Green Wave won its first six games for the school's best start since 1934, but the highlight of the year was the season finale with LSU. In that game, the Green Wave beat the Tigers for the first time since 1948, taking a 14-0 win before a beyond-capacity crowd of 86,598 in Tulane Stadium.
Foley led the 1973 team in both passing and rushing and was named MVP at season's end. He ran for two TDs in the season opener with Boston College, broke a 72-yard TD run to start off a rout over VMI, threw the winning TD pass with nine seconds left against Duke and scampered for 181 yards (the most ever by a Tulane QB) against Vanderbilt to clinch the bowl bid.
Hall and sophomore middle guard Mark Olivari created havoc in the middle of the defensive line and junior linebacker Rusty Chambers made 153 tackles as five opponents were held to six points or less. The defense shut out VMI, North Carolina and LSU. It was a year to remember, as only the 1931 and 1934 teams had won more games in one season. In the bowl game against Houston, Tulane dropped a 47-7 decision to an explosive Cougar squad.
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