1973 NCAA Division I football rankings
Two human polls comprised the 1973 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll.Legend
AP Poll
This was the last season in which the final UPI Coaches Poll was released prior to the bowl games, in early December.
Alabama received 21 of the 34 first-place votes; Oklahoma received nine, Ohio State two, Notre Dame one, and Michigan one.
| Ranking | Team | Conference | Bowl |
| 1 | Alabama | SEC | Lost Sugar, 23–24 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | Big Eight | none |
| 3 | Ohio State | Big Ten | Won Rose, 42–21 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | Independent | Won Sugar, 24–23 |
| 5 | Penn State | Independent | Won Orange, 16–9 |
| 6 | Michigan | Big Ten | none |
| 7 | USC | Pac-8 | Lost Rose, 21–42 |
| 8 | Texas | Southwest | Lost Cotton, 3–19 |
| 9 | UCLA | Pac-8 | none |
| 10 | Arizona State | WAC | Won Fiesta, 28–7 |
| 11 | Nebraska | Big Eight | Won Cotton, 19–3 |
| 11 | Texas Tech | Southwest | Won Gator, 28–19 |
| 13 | Houston | Independent | Won Bluebonnet, 47–7 |
| 14 | LSU | SEC | Lost Orange, 9–16 |
| 15 | Kansas | Big Eight | Lost Liberty, 18–31 |
| 15 | Tulane | Independent | Lost Bluebonnet, 7–47 |
| 17 | Miami | Mid-American | Won Tangerine, 16–7 |
| 18 | Maryland | ACC | Lost Peach, 16–17 |
| 19 | San Diego State | PCAA | none |
| 19 | Florida | SEC | Lost Tangerine, 7–16 |
Source:
