1972 NCAA Division I-A football season

1972 NCAA University Division football season
Total # of teams	127
Preseason AP #1	Nebraska Cornhuskers
Regular season	September 9 – December 2, 1972
Number of bowls	11
Bowl games	December 18, 1972 – January 1, 1973
Champions	USC Trojans
Heisman	Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska - WB
← 1971 College football seasons 1973 →

1972 ACC football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#12 North Carolina $	6	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
#17 NC State	4	–	1	–	1	8	–	3	–	1
Maryland	3	–	2	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Duke	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Clemson	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Virginia	1	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Wake Forest	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1972 Big 8 football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#2 Oklahoma $	6	–	1	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
#4 Nebraska $	5	–	1	–	1	9	–	2	–	1
#16 Colorado	4	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Oklahoma State	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Missouri	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	4	–	1	5	–	6	–	1
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Due to a dispute over Oklahoma forfeiting games, both OU and Nebraska claim this title. Rankings from AP Poll

1972 Big Ten football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#6 Michigan +	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	1	–	0
#9 Ohio State +	7	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Purdue	6	–	2	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Michigan State	5	–	2	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Indiana	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Illinois	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Iowa	2	–	6	–	1	3	–	7	–	1
Wisconsin	2	–	6	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	8	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1972 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#18 Louisville +	4	–	1	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
Drake +	4	–	1	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
West Texas State	3	–	1	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Tulsa	3	–	1	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Memphis State	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	1
Wichita State	2	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
New Mexico State	1	–	3	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
North Texas State	0	–	7	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1972 Pacific-8 football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#1 USC $	7	–	0	–	0	12	–	0	–	0
#15 UCLA	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
#19 Washington State	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Washington	4	–	3	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
California	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Oregon	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Stanford	2	–	5	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Oregon State	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1972 Pacific Coast Athletic Association football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
San Diego State $	4	–	0	–	0	10	–	1	–	0
Pacific (CA)	3	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Fresno State	1	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	1
Long Beach State	1	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
San Jose State	1	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1972 SEC football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#7 Alabama $	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
#5 Auburn	6	–	1	–	0	10	–	1	–	0
#11 LSU	4	–	1	–	1	9	–	2	–	1
#8 Tennessee	4	–	2	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Georgia	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Florida	3	–	3	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Ole Miss	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Kentucky	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Mississippi State	1	–	6	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1972 Southern Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
East Carolina $	6	–	0	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Richmond	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
William & Mary	4	–	2	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
The Citadel	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Davidson	2	–	3	–	1	3	–	7	–	1
VMI	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Furman	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Appalachian State	0	–	3	–	1	5	–	5	–	1

$ – Conference champion

1972 NCAA University Division independents football records
	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
#10 Penn State		–		10	–	2	–	0
#14 Notre Dame		–		8	–	3	–	0
Utah State		–		8	–	3	–	0
West Virginia		–		8	–	4	–	0
Florida State		–		7	–	4	–	0
Northern Illinois		–		7	–	4	–	0
Rutgers		–		7	–	4	–	0
#20 Georgia Tech		–		7	–	4	–	1
Air Force		–		6	–	4	–	0
Army		–		6	–	4	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		6	–	4	–	1
Houston		–		6	–	4	–	1
Tulane		–		6	–	5	–	0
Temple		–		5	–	4	–	0
Colgate		–		5	–	4	–	1
Holy Cross		–		5	–	4	–	1
Syracuse		–		5	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		5	–	6	–	0
Dayton		–		4	–	6	–	1
Boston College		–		4	–	7	–	0
Navy		–		4	–	7	–	0
South Carolina		–		4	–	7	–	0
Southern Miss		–		3	–	7	–	1
Xavier		–		2	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		2	–	9	–	0
Villanova		–		2	–	9	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		1	–	10	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 NCAA University Division football season saw the USC Trojans, coached by John McKay, go undefeated and win the national championship as the unanimous choice of the fifty AP panelists. Eighth-ranked in the preseason, the Trojans were narrowly voted #1 in the first AP poll, and stayed out front for the rest of the year.

During the twentieth century, the NCAA had no playoff for the major college football teams in the University Division, which became Division I in 1973 (and Division I-A in 1978). The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press (AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by United Press International) (UPI). Through the 1973 season, the UPI issued its final poll in early December before the bowls, but since 1968 (and 1965) the AP Trophy was withheld until the postseason was completed. The AP poll in 1972 consisted of the votes of fifty sportswriters, though not all of them voted in every poll. Those who cast votes would give their opinion of the ten best teams. Under a point system of twenty points for first place, nineteen for second, etc., the "overall" ranking was determined.

This season was historically significant because it was the first in which freshmen were eligible to play varsity football in the University Division. The NCAA had historically prohibited freshmen from varsity competition, except during the U.S. involvement in World War II. In 1968, the NCAA allowed freshman eligibility in the University Division in all sports, except football and basketball, and extended the rule to those sports effective with the 1972–73 academic year.

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