1973 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team
American college football season
The 1973 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented Abilene Christian College (ACC) during the 1973 NAIA Division I football season. In their sixth season under head coach Wally Bullington, and their first season as a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC), the Wildcats compiled an 11–1 record (9–0 against conference opponents), won the LSC championship, and outscored all opponents by a total of 466 to 206. They advanced to the NAIA playoff, defeating Langston (34–6) in the semifinals and Elon (42–14) in the Champion Bowl to win the 1973 NAIA Division I football national championship.
Freshman tailback Wilbert Montgomery set a new college football scoring record with 37 touchdowns and 222 points scored in 11 games, including two post-season games. Junior quarterback Clint Longley also set multiple school records, including 2,719 regular-season passing yards (3,167 including two post-season games) and 23 touchdown passes. Both received Little All-America honors.
The team played home games at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene, Texas.
Schedule
Regular season
Arkansas State
ACC opened its season on September 8 with a 56–46 loss to Arkansas State in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The quarterbacks posted huge numbers: Arkansas State quarterback Steve Burks rushed for 179 yards and scored seven touchdowns, while ACC quarterback Clint Longley passed for 433 yards and six touchdowns, including a 92-yard touchdown pass to Richard Williams. Longley's 433 yards broke Abilene's single-game school record, and the 92-yard strike to Williams was the longest in school history.
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