1973 Texas Longhorns football team

American college football season

1973 Texas Longhorns football

SWC champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 3–19 vs Nebraska
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 14
Record	8–3 (7–0 SWC)
Head coach	Darrell Royal (17th season)
Offensive coordinator	Fred Akers
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Defensive coordinator	Mike Campbell
Base defense	4-4
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium (capacity: 77,809)
Seasons ← 1972 1974 →

1973 Southwest Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 14 Texas $	7	–	0	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
No. 11 Texas Tech	6	–	1	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
Rice	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
SMU	3	–	3	–	1	6	–	4	–	1
Arkansas	3	–	3	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Texas A&M	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
TCU	1	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Baylor	0	–	7	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1973 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. The Longhorns finished the regular season with an 8–2 record and lost to Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 21		at Miami (FL)*	No. 6	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		L 15–20	30,080
September 29	7:30 p.m.	Texas Tech	No. 14	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)		W 28–12	77,809
October 6	7:30 p.m.	Wake Forest*	No. 13	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX		W 41–0	51,700	^[1]
October 13	12:30 p.m.	vs. No. 6 Oklahoma*	No. 13	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)	ABC	L 13–52	72,204
October 20	2:00 p.m.	at Arkansas		Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR (rivalry)		W 34–6	45,348
October 27	7:30 p.m.	Rice		Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)		W 55–13	62,300
November 3	2:00 p.m.	at SMU	No. 19	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	ABC	W 42–14	35,096
November 10	2:00 p.m.	Baylor	No. 13	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX		W 42–6	64,500
November 17	2:00 p.m.	TCU	No. 11	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)		W 52–7	50,000
November 22	1:30 p.m.	at Texas A&M	No. 11	Kyle Field College Station, TX (rivalry)		W 42–13	53,000
January 1, 1974	1:00 p.m.	vs. No. 12 Nebraska*	No. 8	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	CBS	L 3–19	67,500
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

At Miami (FL)

#6 Texas Longhorns (0–0) at Miami (FL) Hurricanes (0–0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Texas	6	0	6	3	15
Miami (FL)	0	13	7	0	20

at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

Date: September 21, 1973
Game weather: 84 °F (29 °C)
Game attendance: 30,080
Box Score

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Texas	Passing	Marty Akins	3/3, 42 yards
	Rushing	Roosevelt Leaks	30 rushes, 153 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Jim Moore	1 reception, 16 yards
Miami (FL)	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	UT	MIA
1	8:01	14	86	6:59	Texas	Roosevelt Leaks 5-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick no good	6	0
2	13:25	9	69	3:52	Miami (FL)	Woody Thompson 1-yard touchdown run, kick no good	6	6
2	3:42	16	70	8:57	Miami (FL)	Woody Thompson 1-yard touchdown run, Rod Huffman kick good	6	13
3	8:12	3	14	1:13	Miami (FL)	Woody Thompson 1-yard touchdown run, Rod Huffman kick good	6	20
3	4:50	8	54	3:14	Texas	Roosevelt Leaks 2-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed	12	20
4	12:44	10	55	4:09	Texas	34-yard field goal by Billy Schott	15	20
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							15	20

Texas Tech

Texas Tech Red Raiders (2–0) at #14 Texas Longhorns (0–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Texas Tech	0	0	6	6	12
Texas	7	7	0	14	28

at Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas

Date: September 29, 1973
Game time: 7:30 p.m.
Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C)
Game attendance: 77,809
Box Score

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Texas Tech	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Texas	Passing	Marty Akins	5/8, 73 Yds, INT
	Rushing	Roosevelt Leaks	20 Rush, 89 Yds, TD
	Receiving	Pat Kelly	3 Rec, 53 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	TTU	UT
1	8:08	3	18	1:17	Texas	Roosevelt Leaks 15-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	0	7
2	14:08	13	86	5:37	Texas	Marty Akins 3-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	0	14
3	9:45	9	44	4:20	Texas Tech	Lawrence Williams 12-yard touchdown reception from Joe Barnes, kick no good	6	14
4	14:55	8	66	3:25	Texas Tech	James Mosley 21-yard touchdown run, 2-point run failed	12	14
4	8:15	13	70	6:40	Texas	Tommy Landry 3-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	12	21
4	8:15				Texas	Kickoff fumble recovery in end zone for touchdown by Jay Arnold, Billy Schott kick good	12	28
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							12	28

Wake Forest

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (1–2) at #13 Texas Longhorns (1–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Wake Forest	0	0	0	0	0
Texas	7	7	7	20	41

at Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas

Date: October 6, 1973
Game time: 7:30 p.m.
Game weather: 81 °F (27 °C)
Game attendance: 51,700
Box Score

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wake Forest	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Texas	Passing	Marty Akins	6/17, 80 Yds
	Rushing	David Bartek	12 Rush, 85 Yds
	Receiving	Pat Kelly	7 Rec, 91 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	WF	UT
1	5:47	15	80	6:24	Texas	Joe Aboussie 14-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	0	7
2	2:03	13	90	3:47	Texas	Marty Akins 1-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	0	14
3	9:23				Texas	Interception returned 58 yards for touchdown by Jay Arnold, Billy Schott kick good	0	21
4	7:50	12	71	5:24	Texas	Lonnie Bennett 4-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	0	28
4	6:17	4	15	1:27	Texas	Coy Featherston 2-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick no good	0	34
4	0:36	3	43	1:14	Texas	Pat Kennedy 15-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	0	41
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							0	41

vs Oklahoma

#6 Oklahoma Sooners (2–0) vs. #13 Texas Longhorns (2–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma	7	14	14	17	52
Texas	3	3	0	7	13

at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Date: October 13
Game time: 12:30 p.m.
Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C)
Game attendance: 72,204
TV: ABC
Box Score

Worst loss in Darrell Royal's coaching career ^[2]

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Oklahoma	Passing	Steve Davis	5/6, 185 Yds, 2 TD
	Rushing	Joe Washington	12 Rush, 117 Yds
	Receiving	Tinker Owens	4 Rec, 163 Yds, 2 TD
Texas	Passing	Marty Akins	5/9, 64 Yds, INT
	Rushing	Roosevelt Leaks	20 Rush, 82 Yds
	Receiving	Pat Kelly	4 Rec, 71 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	OU	UT
1	10:05	6	82	2:37	Oklahoma	Tinker Owens 40-yard touchdown reception from Joe Washington, Rick Fulcher kick good	7	0
1	3:25	14	79	6:40	Texas	36-yard field goal by Billy Schott	7	3
2	11:14	12	90	5:17	Texas	44-yard field goal by Billy Schott	7	6
2	10:46	2	68	0:28	Oklahoma	Tinker Owens 63-yard touchdown reception from Steve Davis, Rick Fulcher kick good	14	6
2	0:29	3	47	0:31	Oklahoma	Billy Brooks 47-yard touchdown reception from Steve Davis, Rick Fulcher kick good	21	6
3	11:26	8	77	3:34	Oklahoma	Steve Davis 15-yard touchdown run, Rick Fulcher kick good	28	6
3	1:09	2	7	0:46	Oklahoma	Steve Davis 2-yard touchdown run, Rick Fulcher kick good	35	6
4	13:35	4	9	1:15	Oklahoma	25-yard field goal by Rick Fulcher	38	6
4	11:59	1	11	0:07	Oklahoma	Scott Hill 11-yard touchdown run, Rick Fulcher kick good	45	6
4	7:05	7	80	2:55	Texas	Mike Presley 31-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	45	13
4	1:39	11	81	5:26	Oklahoma	Joe McReynolds 11-yard touchdown run, Fulcher kick good	52	13
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							52	13

At Arkansas

Texas Longhorns (2–2) at Arkansas Razorbacks (3–2)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Texas	0	6	21	7	34
Arkansas	0	0	0	6	6

at Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, Arkansas

Date: October 20, 1973
Game time: 2:00 p.m. CDT
Game weather: Clear, 72 °F (22 °C)
Game attendance: 45,348
Box Score

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Texas	Passing	Marty Akins	3/7, 38 Yds
	Rushing	Roosevelt Leaks	24 Rush, 209 Yds, 3 TD
	Receiving	Jim Moore	3 Rec, 27 Yds
Arkansas	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	UT	UA
2	5:42	18	84	8:33	Texas	Roosevelt Leaks 2-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick no good	6	0
3	12:08	6	77	2:52	Texas	Roosevelt Leaks 43-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	13	0
3	10:03				Texas	Punt returned 73 yards for touchdown by Rob Moore, Billy Schott kick good	20	0
3	1:49	1	59	0:09	Texas	Roosevelt Leaks 59-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	27	0
4	8:50	1	85	0:12	Texas	Raymond Clayborn 85-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	34	0
4	0:13				Arkansas	Blocked punt recovered in end zone for touchdown by Rollen Smith, kick no good	34	6
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							34	6

Rice

Rice Owls (1–4) at #19 Texas Longhorns (3–2)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Rice	7	0	0	6	13
Texas	7	13	14	21	55

at Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas

Date: October 27, 1973
Game time: 7:30 p.m.
Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C)
Game attendance: 62,300
Box Score

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Rice	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Texas	Passing	Marty Akins	5/6, 55 Yds, 2 TD
	Rushing	Roosevelt Leaks	29 Rush, 193 Yds, 2 TD
	Receiving	Pat Padgett	2 Rec, 48 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	RU	UT
1	6:54	10	80	4:30	Rice	Ed Lofton 13-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Kramer, Alan Pringle kick good	7	0
1	2:43	4	41	1:14	Texas	Lonnie Bennett 5-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	7	7
2	8:02	2	28	0:39	Texas	Roosevelt Leaks 25-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick no good	7	13
2	1:35	6	60	1:08	Texas	Parker Alford 5-yard touchdown reception from Marty Akins, Billy Schott kick good	7	20
3	7:42	15	80	7:18	Texas	Roosevelt Leaks 6-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	7	27
3	1:57	8	51	3:53	Texas	Parker Alford 3-yard touchdown reception from Marty Akins, Billy Schott kick good	7	34
4	10:40	1	12	0:06	Texas	Mike Presley 12-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	7	41
4	7:34	4	33	1:00	Rice	Ardie Segars 25-yard touchdown reception from Claude Reed, 2-point pass failed	13	41
4	7:13	2	67	0:31	Texas	Mike Presely 5-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	13	48
4	3:32	6	29	2:52	Texas	Mike Presley 1-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good	13	55
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							13	55

At SMU

Baylor

TCU

At Texas A&M

Cotton Bowl (vs Nebraska)

Personnel

1973 Texas Longhorns football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	Name	Class
RB	Joe Aboussie	So
QB	Marty Akins
WR	Parker Alford
RB	Rene Amaya
RB	Dave Bartek
RB	Lonnie Bennett
RB	Raymond Clayborn
WR	Mike Cromeens
OL	Don Crosslin
LB	Greg Dahlberg
RB	Coy Featherston
RB	Mike Featherston
RB	Mike Hartinger
OL	Bruce Hebert
WR	Tommy Ingram
WR	Pat Kelly
RB	Pat Kennedy
RB	Tommy Landry
RB	Roosevelt Leaks
RB	Rucker Lewis
RB	Mickey Macaluso
WR	Jim Moore
WR	Pat Padgett
QB	Mike Presley
QB	Bob Riviere
OL	Bob Simmons
OL	Will Wilcox
OL	Jim Wyman

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB		Jay Arnold
DB		Joe Bob Bizzell
DL		Fred Currin
DL		Doug English
LB		Glen Gaspard
LB		Wade Johnston
DB		Tommy Keel
LB		Sherman Lee
DB		Terry Melancon
DL		Malcolm Minnick
DL		Bill Rutherford
DL		Rico Thurman
DB		Gary Yeoman

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P		Mike Dean
K		Billy Schott

Head coach

Darrell Royal

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

References

^ "Longhorns thunder past outgunned Deacons 41–0". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 7, 1973. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Sooners Slam Texas, 52-13." Palm Beach Post. October 14, 1973

v t e Texas Longhorns football
Venues	Clark Field (1896–1924) Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium (1924–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Arkansas Oklahoma (Red River Rivalry) Rice TCU Texas A&M (Lone Star Showdown) Texas Tech
Culture & lore	History Brown years Bevo Hook 'em "Texas Fight" Hex Rally 1969 "Game of the Century" Longhorn Band The University of Texas National Championship 2005 2005 Ohio State game 2007 player suspensions 2008 Texas Tech game 2008 Big 12 South 3-way tie controversy 1 Second Left My All American
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks All-Americans Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Southwest Conference football champions
Oklahoma (1915) Texas (1916) Texas A&M (1917) Texas & Oklahoma (1918) Texas A&M (1919) Texas (1920) Texas A&M (1921) Baylor (1922) SMU (1923) Baylor (1924) Texas A&M (1925) SMU (1926) Texas A&M (1927) Texas (1928) TCU (1929) Texas (1930) SMU (1931) TCU (1932) No champion (1933) Rice (1934) SMU (1935) Arkansas (1936) Rice (1937) TCU (1938) Texas A&M (1939) Texas A&M & SMU (1940) Texas A&M (1941) Texas (1942) Texas (1943) TCU (1944) Texas (1945) Rice & Arkansas (1946) SMU (1947) SMU (1948) Rice (1949) Texas (1950) TCU (1951) Texas (1952) Rice & Texas (1953) Arkansas (1954) TCU (1955) Texas A&M (1956) Rice (1957) TCU (1958) Arkansas, Texas, & TCU (1959) Arkansas (1960) Texas & Arkansas (1961) Texas (1962) Texas (1963) Arkansas (1964) Arkansas (1965) SMU (1966) Texas A&M (1967) Arkansas & Texas (1968) Texas (1969) Texas (1970) Texas (1971) Texas (1972) Texas (1973) Baylor (1974) Arkansas, Texas & Texas A&M (1975) Houston & Texas Tech (1976) Texas (1977) Houston (1978) Arkansas & Houston (1979) Baylor (1980) SMU (1981) SMU (1982) Texas (1983) SMU & Houston (1984) Texas A&M (1985) Texas A&M (1986) Texas A&M (1987) Arkansas (1988) Arkansas (1989) Texas (1990) Texas A&M (1991) Texas A&M (1992) Texas A&M (1993) Texas Tech, Baylor, Rice, Texas & TCU (1994) Texas (1995)
National championships in bold

Southwest Conference football champions