1973 Hawaii Rainbows football team

1973 Hawaii Rainbows football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 9
Record	9–2
Head coach	Dave Holmes (6th season)
Home stadium	Honolulu 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 Hawaii Rainbows football team represented the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa as an independent during the 1973 NCAA Division II football season. In their sixth season under head coach Dave Holmes, the Rainbows compiled a 9–2 record.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 15	at Washington		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 10–7	52,500
September 22	at Fresno State	No. T–11	Ratcliffe Stadium Fresno, CA (rivalry)	W 13–10	8,683
September 29	Texas Southern	No. 6	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	W 24–21	23,500
October 6	Cal State Los Angeles	No. 6	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	W 16–9	23,015
October 20	Puget Sound	No. 4	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	W 30–7	23,000
October 27	UNLV	No. 3	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	W 31–29	23,011
November 3	Cal State Northridge	No. 2	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	W 28–3	19,281
November 10	Santa Clara	No. 2	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	W 40–9	22,987
November 17	Pacific (CA)	No. 2	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	L 3–28	23,206
November 24	San Jose State	No. T–6	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI (Dick Tomey Legacy Game)	L 3–23	20,777
December 1	Utah	No. 11	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	W 7–6	15,662
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game