1973 Chico State Wildcats football team

The 1973 Chico State Wildcats football team represented California State University, Chico as a member of the Far Western Conference (FWC) during the 1973 NCAA Division II football season. Led by Pete Riehlman in his sixth and final season as head coach, Chico State compiled an overall record of 7–3 with a mark of 4–1 in conference play, sharing the FWC title with UC Davis. The team outscored its opponents 185 to 152 for the season. The Wildcats played home games at University Stadium in Chico, California.

1973 Chico State Wildcats football
FWC co-champion
Conference	Far Western Conference
Record	7–3 (4–1 FWC)
Head coach	Pete Riehlman (6th season)
Home stadium	University Stadium
Seasons ← 1972 1974 →

1973 Far Western Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
UC Davis +	4	–	1	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Chico State +	4	–	1	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
San Francisco State	3	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	1
Cal State Hayward	3	–	2	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Humboldt State	1	–	4	–	0			2	–	6	–	2
Sacramento State	0	–	5	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions

Riehlman finished his tenure at Chico State with an overall record of 41–20, for a .672 winning percentage. That is the highest winning percentage of any head coach in the history of the Chico State Wildcats football program.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	Southern Utah State*	University Stadium Chico, CA	W 10–3	6,300
September 15	at Willamette*	McCulloch Stadium Salem, OR	W 28–14	1,500
September 22	Nevada*	University Stadium Chico, CA	L 3–33	3,100
October 6	Humboldt State	University Stadium Chico, CA	W 17–13	1,000
October 13	at UC Davis	Toomey Field Davis, CA	L 10–21	7,800
October 20	San Francisco State	University Stadium Chico, CA	W 31–7	6,082
October 27	Simon Fraser*	University Stadium Chico, CA	L 13–21	1,000
November 3	at Cal Poly Pomona*	Kellogg Field Pomona, CA	W 35–34	2,455–2,500	^[1]
November 10	at Cal State Hayward	Pioneer Stadium Hayward, CA	W 17–6	1,000
November 17	Sacramento State	University Stadium Chico, CA	W 21–0	1,500
*Non-conference game

^[2][3]

Team players in the NFL

No Chico State players were selected in the 1974 NFL Draft.^[4][5][6]

The following finished their Chico State career in 1973, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.

Player	Position	First NFL team
Tony Bertuca	Linebacker	1974 Baltimore Colts

References

1. Gustkey, Earl (November 4, 1973). "Aztecs Rally for 27-27 Tie With San Jose St". The Los Angeles Times. p. III-11. Retrieved February 8, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. 
2. "Final 1973 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
3. . Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
4. "1974 NFL Draft". Retrieved October 28, 2017.
5. "Cal State-Chico Players/Alumni". Retrieved October 28, 2017.
6. . Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.