1973 Sugar Bowl
| 1973 Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 40th Sugar Bowl National championship game | |||||||||||||||||||||
Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, hosted the Sugar Bowl. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 31, 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Tulane Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Tom Clements, Notre Dame QB | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Alabama by 6½ points | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Gene Calhoun (Big Ten) (split crew: Big Ten, SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 85,161 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Chris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson, and Howard Cosell | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 25.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 1973 Sugar Bowl, part of the 1973 bowl game season, took place on December 31, 1973, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. The top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) met the independent Notre Dame Fighting Irish; both teams were undefeated.
Underdog Notre Dame won 24–23; the game received a 25.3 Nielsen rating, making it one of the highest-rated college football games in history.