The1972 NCAA University Division football season saw theUSC Trojans, coached byJohn McKay, go undefeated and win thenational championship as the unanimous choice of the 50 AP panelists. Eighth-ranked in the preseason, the Trojans were narrowly voted No. 1 in the first AP poll, and stayed out front for the rest of the year.
Prior to the 1972 season, two programs were elevated to the University Division. The new programs wereLong Beach State andTampa. The change brought the total number of programs in the University Division to 121.[2]
During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the majorcollege football teams in the University Division, which became Division I in1973 (and Division I-A in1978). 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" byAssociated Press (AP) was the most popular, followed by the"coaches' poll" byUnited Press International) (UPI). Through the 1973 season, the UPI issued its final poll in early December before the bowls, but since1968 (and1965) 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 whichfreshmen were eligible to play varsity football in the University Division.[3][4][5] The NCAA had historically prohibited freshmen from varsity competition, except during the United States involvement inWorld War II and theKorean War. 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.
Kickoffs that land in the end zone untouched by the receivers are blown dead and the ball put in play by the receiving team at their own 20-yard line (touchback).
Official time-outs are called for players who are "obviously injured." Previously, teams were charged a time-out for an injured player.
Fouls committed by the team not in possession of the ball behind the dead-ball spot are enforced from the dead-ball spot.
Jerseys must be replaced if the numbers are no longer readable. (Tear-aways were popular for backs & receivers, later prohibited)
Mouthpieces are made mandatory starting with the1973 season.
This was the last season for the "University" and "College" divisions. For the1973 season, the NCAA created the three-division structure that exists today with teams and conferences designated accordingly:
Five years later in1978, Division I was subdivided (for football only) intoI-A andI-AA. In2006, these were renamedDivision I FBS andFCS, respectively. Many of the teams and conferences now in FCS (Big Sky,Ohio Valley,SWAC,Yankee) were initially in Division II and moved up to I-AA.
OnSeptember 9, No. 1 Nebraska lost 20–17 on a late field goal to unrankedUCLA at night inLos Angeles and dropped to tenth place. No. 2 Colorado beatCalifornia 20–10. No. 3 Ohio State was idle, and No. 4 Arkansas lost 31–10 to No. 8USC inLittle Rock. No. 5 Penn State had not begun its season but fell to sixth. No. 7Alabama beatDuke 35–12 in Birmingham and reached the top five, as did No. 6Oklahoma, which had not yet played a game but moved up two slots. In the next poll, USC received 13 first place votes, and Colorado and Oklahoma had 12 apiece, but USC had a narrow lead in points, 779 to Colorado's 769. The poll was led by No. 1 USC, No. 2 Colorado, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 Alabama.
September 16: No. 1 USC trouncedOregon State 51–6, and No. 2 Colorado was idle. No. 3 Ohio State blankedIowa 21–0, and No. 4 Oklahoma shut outUtah State 49–0. No. 5 Alabama was idle, and No. 7Tennessee took its place in the next poll following a 28−21 victory over No. 6 Penn State. The poll featured No. 1 USC, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Colorado, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Tennessee.
September 23: No. 1 USC won 55–20 atIllinois, and No. 2 Oklahoma crushedOregon 68–3. No. 3 Colorado won 38–6 atMinnesota, No. 4 Ohio State was idle, and No. 5 Tennessee beatWake Forest 45–6. The next poll featured No. 1 USC, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Colorado, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 5 Ohio State.
September 30: No. 1 USC played another Big Ten opponent, beatingMichigan State 51–6 at the Coliseum in Los Angeles. No. 2 Oklahoma beatClemson 52–3, having outscored its first three opponents 169–6. No. 3 Colorado lost 31–6 atOklahoma State, and No. 4 Tennessee lost 10–6 toAuburn in Birmingham. No. 5 Ohio State beatNorth Carolina 29–14. No. 6 Alabama beatVanderbilt 48–21, and No. 8Michigan defeatedTulane 41–7. The next poll featured No. 1 USC, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Alabama, and No. 5 Michigan.
October 7: No. 1 USC won 30–21 at No. 15Stanford; the nine-point margin of victory would turn out to be the closest of their season. No. 2 Oklahoma was idle, and No. 3 Ohio State won 35–18 atCalifornia. No. 4 Alabama won 25–7 atGeorgia and No. 5 Michigan beatNavy 35–7. The next poll featured No. 1 USC, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Michigan.
October 14: No. 1 USC went back to winning big, 42–14 over California. No. 2 Oklahoma shut out theirrival, No. 10Texas, 27–0 atDallas. No. 3 Alabama beatFlorida 24–7. No. 4 Ohio State beat Illinois 25–7, and No. 5 Michigan blanked Michigan State 10–0, but dropped to sixth in the next poll. No. 6 Nebraska, which rolled overMissouri 62–0, moved up a spot. The top four remained the same.
October 21: No. 1 USC beat No. 18Washington 34–7, but No. 2 Oklahoma yielded its first touchdown of the season at No. 9 Colorado, and eventually fell 20–14. No. 3 Alabama won at No. 10 Tennessee 17–10, No. 4 Ohio State won atWisconsin 28–20, and No. 5 Nebraska won 56–0 atKansas. No. 6 Michigan won 31–7 at Illinois and returned to the top five. The next poll featured No. 1 USC, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Michigan.
October 28: No. 1 USC won 18–0 at Oregon, its only shutout in a perfect season. No. 2 Alabama beatSouthern Mississippi 48–11 in Birmingham, and No. 3 Nebraska registered its fourth consecutive shutout, 34–0 at Oklahoma State. The Cornhuskers had outscored their opponents 271–14 after their opening loss, most notably including a 77–7 win atArmy. No. 4 Ohio State handledIndiana 44–7, and No. 5 Michigan beat Minnesota 27–19. The next poll featured No. 1 USC, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 Ohio State.
November 4: No. 1 USC beatWashington State 44–3 inSeattle, and No. 2 Alabama defeatedMississippi State 58–14. No. 3 Nebraska won 33–10 at No. 15 Colorado, No. 4 Michigan won 21–7 at Indiana, and No. 5 Ohio State beat Minnesota 27–19. The top five remained the same.
November 11: No. 1 USC had the week off. In a matchup of undefeated teams, No. 2 Alabama beat No. 6LSU 35–21 atBirmingham. No. 3 Nebraska visited Iowa State and played to a 23–23 tie. No. 4 Michigan won 31–0 at Iowa to extend its record to 9–0. No. 5 Ohio State lost 19–12 at Michigan State, and No. 7 Oklahoma beat No. 14 Missouri 17–6 to return to the top five. The next poll featured No. 1 USC, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 Nebraska.
November 18: No. 1 USC beat No. 14 UCLA, 24–7, and No. 2 Alabama beatVirginia Tech 52–13. No. 3 Michigan got pastPurdue 9–6, No. 4 Oklahoma won 31–7 at Kansas, and No. 5 Nebraska beatKansas State 59–7. The top five remained the same.
November 25: No. 1 USC and No. 2 Alabama were idle, while No. 3 Michigan (10–0) and No. 9 Ohio State (9–1) met atColumbus to determine the Big Ten title and USC'sRose Bowl opponent. In the fourth installment of "The Ten Year War," Ohio State won 14–11. No. 4 Oklahoma returned the favor of last year'sGame of the Century by beating No. 5 Nebraska 17–14 on the road inLincoln. No. 6 Penn State beat visitingPittsburgh 49–27 to close its regular season at 10–1. The next poll featured No. 1 USC, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Penn State.
December 2: No. 1 USC closed its regular season at home with a 45–23 win over No. 10Notre Dame to finish at 11–0. No. 2 Alabama (10–0), which had already clinched the SEC championship, hoped to do the same as it met No. 9 Auburn (8–1) in their annualIron Bowl rivalry game inBirmingham. Auburn spoiled perfection,beating Alabama 17–16. No. 3 Oklahoma closed its regular season with a 10–1 record and the Big 8 title after a 38–15 win over No. 20 Oklahoma State. No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Penn State had both finished their regular seasons. The final regular season poll featured No. 1 USC, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Alabama, and No. 5 Penn State.
In 1972, only theRose Bowl (Big Ten vs. Pac-8) andCotton Bowl (SWC winner) had rigid conference tie-ins. Thus, Big 8 champion Oklahoma passed up an Orange Bowl invitation to play in theSugar Bowl against Penn State, whileSEC champion Alabama turned down the Sugar to meet No. 7 Texas (which had breezed to the SWC title after its early-season loss to Oklahoma) in the Cotton. For the first time, the Sugar Bowl was played at night on New Year's Eve, rather than New Year's Day afternoon. With two consecutive victories in the Orange Bowl, No. 9 Nebraska was invited toa third against No. 12 Notre Dame.
The Big 8 Conference mandated Oklahoma forfeits in three conference games, giving Nebraska the title. Oklahoma reverted this record at a later date; hence, both Oklahoma[6] and Nebraska[7] claim this title.
West Texas State's game againstColorado State, Tulsa's game againstTCU, and New Mexico State's game againstNew Mexico counted in the conference standings.
TheHeisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player. TheBig Eight Conference dominated the Heisman race in 1972, as the top three were from Nebraska and Oklahoma:
