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Big Ten Openers – – Iowa — Looking Back – 1973

Looking Back is a Special Feature by Jeff Cummins

The second installment of this series looking back at Michigan’s Big Ten conference opening games takes us back to 1973. The 1973 Michigan team was one of Bo Schembechler’s best teams, finishing 10-0-1. The season began at Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium, another venue that has been challenging for Michigan on certain occasions.

However, this was not one of those occasions. Schembechler teams never lacked for an identity. Bo liked to run the ball, and run it with power. He placed a lot of faith in his offensive line, and during the Schembechler era, his offensive lines allowed Michigan to control the ball for long stretches at a time, giving Michigan fans a peace of mind that’s rare in college football.

Chuck Heater provided much of the offensive punch in this game. Heater later developed a repuation as a respected defensive coach, but on this day, he gained 135 yards on 17 carries to lead Michigan to a 31-7 opening day victory. Six different players carried the ball for the Wolverines, gaining 440 yards on 25 rushes. Mike Lantry opened the scoring a little more than two minutes into the game with a 39-yard field goal, and Heater extended the lead to 10-0 on a 1-yard touchdown run later in the first quarter. Dennis Franklin threw a pick six in the second quarter to allow Iowa to cut Michigan’s lead to three points, but then Michigan went back to basics. Michigan scored a rushing touchdown in each of the last three quarters to pull away and make the game a laugher, the first of many for the ’73 Wolverines.

I was unable to find any video of the game, so please enjoy this box score, courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library.

As always, we own nothing and do not profit from this in any way. This blog post is provided strictly for the enjoyment of readers.



About Jeff Cummins

Jeff Cummins has written about football since 1998, including nine years with The Record of Hackensack, N.J. He frequently contributes feature stories to Touchdown Illustrated, an insert in the national college football game program, published by University Sports Publications, and he has also written the official pregame stories for the game programs of the Rose Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Gator Bowl, and the BCS National Championship game. He has written the preview story for the official program for the NHL Winter Classic at MIchigan Stadium, and numerous college basketball feature stories for College Hoops Illustrated, another game program insert published by University Sports Publications. In addition, he has written stories about theater, music, physical therapy, and newsletter marketing. He’s an avid Michigan football fan and long-time New York Jets season ticket holder, and he can be reached at jeffcummins@optonline.net.

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