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1972 Alabama

10–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bear Bryant, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 1972, game by game: won vs. Duke 35–12; won vs. Kentucky 35–0; won vs. Vanderbilt 48–21; won at Georgia 25–7; won vs. Florida 24–7; won at No. 10 Tennessee 17–10; won vs. Southern Miss 48–11; won vs. Mississippi State 58–14; won vs. No. 6 LSU 35–21; won vs. Virginia Tech 52–13; lost vs. No. 9 Auburn 16–17; lost vs. No. 7 Texas 13–17+44−4Won 35–12 vs. Duke+23DukeWon 35–0 vs. Kentucky+35KentuckyWon 48–21 vs. Vanderbilt+27VanderbiltWon 25–7 at Georgia+18GeorgiaWon 24–7 vs. Florida+17FloridaWon 17–10 at No. 10 Tennessee+7No. 10 TennesseeWon 48–11 vs. Southern Miss+37Southern MissWon 58–14 vs. Mississippi State+44Mississippi Sta…Won 35–21 vs. No. 6 LSU+14No. 6 LSUWon 52–13 vs. Virginia Tech+39Virginia TechLost 16–17 vs. No. 9 Auburn-1No. 9 AuburnLost 13–17 vs. No. 7 Texas-4No. 7 Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9vsDukeW 35–⁠1279%
Sep 23vsKentuckyW 35–⁠085%
Sep 30vsVanderbiltW 48–⁠2187%
Oct 7atGeorgiaW 25–⁠754%
Oct 14vsFloridaW 24–⁠780%
Oct 21at10TennesseeW 17–⁠1047%
Oct 28vsSouthern MissW 48–⁠1190%
Nov 4vsMississippi StateW 58–⁠1489%
Nov 11vs6LSUW 35–⁠2166%
Nov 18vsVirginia TechW 52–⁠1386%
Dec 2vs9AuburnL 16–⁠1763%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs7TexasCotton BowlL 13–⁠1760%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas 17–⁠13 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 27th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 2: 5
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 6
  5. Wk 5: 4
  6. Wk 6: 3
  7. Wk 7: 3
  8. Wk 8: 2
  9. Wk 9: 2
  10. Wk 10: 2
  11. Wk 11: 2
  12. Wk 12: 2
  13. Wk 13: 2
  14. Wk 14: 4
  15. Final: 7

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1972.

Southeastern Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Heisman voteTerry Davis, fifth

Led the nationWilbur Jackson: yards per carry (7.1)

Consensus All-AmericanJohn Hannah, OG/OT

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 2
Points
406–⁠150
Coach
Bear Bryant
Elo
1781 +100 this season
SP+ rating
31.8 No. 3 of 121; offense No. 4, defense No. 11
SRS
31.1 No. 4 of 127 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Terry Davis and Robin Parkhouse
Offense
Wishbone
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1973

The 1973 draft
Rd 1John Hannah OGNew England Patriots
Rd 7John Mitchell LBSan Francisco 49ers

All-SEC

9 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Steve BiscegliaRBAP-2
  • John CroyleDEAP-2
  • Skip KubeliusDTAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1972 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1972 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama7–⁠110–⁠27
Auburn6–⁠110–⁠15
LSU4–⁠1–⁠19–⁠2–⁠111
Tennessee4–⁠210–⁠28
Georgia4–⁠37–⁠4
Florida3–⁠3–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Ole Miss2–⁠55–⁠5
Kentucky2–⁠53–⁠8
Mississippi State1–⁠64–⁠7
Vanderbilt0–⁠63–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.