1973 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team

1973 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
Boardwalk Bowl, L 8–17 vs. Grambling State
Conference	Independent
Record	8–4
Head coach	Tubby Raymond (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Ted Kempski (6th season)
Home stadium	Delaware Stadium

1973 NCAA Division II independents football records

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Tennessee State			–					10	–	0	–	0
No. 9 Hawaii			–					9	–	2	–	0
Nebraska–Omaha			–					7	–	2	–	1
Trinity (TX)			–					8	–	3	–	0
UNLV			–					8	–	3	–	0
No. 13 Delaware ^			–					8	–	4	–	0
Western Carolina			–					6	–	3	–	1
Central Michigan			–					7	–	4	–	0
Nevada			–					7	–	4	–	0
Western Illinois			–					7	–	4	–	0
Milwaukee			–					6	–	4	–	1
Eastern Michigan			–					6	–	4	–	0
American International			–					5	–	4	–	0
Akron			–					6	–	5	–	0
Central State (OH)			–					6	–	5	–	0
Wayne State (MI)			–					5	–	5	–	0
Drexel			–					4	–	4	–	0
Bucknell			–					3	–	4	–	2
Northeast Louisiana			–					3	–	5	–	2
Santa Clara			–					4	–	6	–	0
Youngstown State			–					4	–	6	–	0
Arkansas–Pine Bluff			–					3	–	5	–	1
Chattanooga			–					4	–	7	–	0
Indiana State			–					4	–	7	–	0
Northeastern			–					3	–	6	–	0
Kentucky State			–					3	–	8	–	0
Northern Michigan			–					2	–	7	–	1
Eastern Illinois			–					2	–	9	–	0
Portland State			–					1	–	10	–	0
^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP small college poll

The 1973 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team represented the University Of Delaware during the 1973 NCAA Division II football season as an independent. The Hens completed the 85th season of Delaware football, and their first as members of the reorganized NCAA Division II. The Hens played their home games in at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware. The 1973 team came off an undefeated 10–0 record from the previous season. The 1973 team was led by coach Tubby Raymond. The team finished the regular season with an 8–3 record and made the inaugural NCAA Division II playoffs. However, the Hens lost to Grambling State 17–8 in the first round, the Boardwalk Bowl.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result
September 8	Akron		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 45–24
September 15	West Chester		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)	W 49–14
September 22	Gettysburg	No. 1	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 60–18
September 29	at Lehigh	No. 1	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA (rivalry)	W 21–9
October 6	Baldwin–Wallace	No. 1	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 56–18
October 13	Connecticut	No. 1	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 35–7
October 20	at Rutgers	No. 1	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	L 7–24
October 27	Temple	No. 2	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	L 8–31
November 3	at Villanova	No. 10	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA (rivalry)	L 7–24
November 10	Maine	No. 14	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 28–12
November 17	at Bucknell	No. 14	Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium Lewisburg, PA	W 50–0
December 1	vs. Grambling State	No. 12	Atlantic City Convention Center Atlantic City, NJ (Boardwalk Bowl – Quarterfinal)	L 8–17
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game