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1972 Arizona State

10–⁠2 (5–⁠1 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Frank Kush, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Arizona State in 1972, game by game: won at Houston 33–28; won vs. Kansas State 56–14; lost at Wyoming 43–45; won vs. Oregon State 38–7; won vs. Utah 59–48; won at BYU 49–17; lost vs. Air Force 31–39; won at UTEP 55–14; won vs. New Mexico 60–7; won vs. San José State 51–21; won at Arizona 38–21; won vs. Missouri 49–35+53−8Won 33–28 at Houston+5HoustonWon 56–14 vs. Kansas State+42Kansas StateLost 43–45 at Wyoming-2WyomingWon 38–7 vs. Oregon State+31Oregon StateWon 59–48 vs. Utah+11UtahWon 49–17 at BYU+32BYULost 31–39 vs. Air Force-8Air ForceWon 55–14 at UTEP+41UTEPWon 60–7 vs. New Mexico+53New MexicoWon 51–21 vs. San José State+30San José StateWon 38–21 at Arizona+17ArizonaWon 49–35 vs. Missouri+14Missouri
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16atHoustonW 33–⁠2852%
Sep 23vsKansas StateW 56–⁠1481%
Sep 30atWyomingL 43–⁠4582%
Oct 7vsOregon StateW 38–⁠783%
Oct 14vsUtahW 59–⁠4885%
Oct 21atBYUW 49–⁠1773%
Oct 28vsAir ForceL 31–⁠3976%
Nov 4atUTEPW 55–⁠1489%
Nov 11vsNew MexicoW 60–⁠787%
Nov 18vsSan José StateW 51–⁠2186%
Nov 25atArizonaW 38–⁠2179%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvsMissouriFiesta BowlW 49–⁠3583%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Missouri 49–⁠35 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; Western Athletic Conference champions.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 93 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 12
  2. Wk 2: 13
  3. Wk 3: 10
  4. Wk 4: 11
  5. Wk 7: 19
  6. Wk 8: 16
  7. Wk 10: 19
  8. Wk 11: 18
  9. Wk 12: 18
  10. Wk 13: 16
  11. Wk 14: 15
  12. Final: 13

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.

Western Athletic Conference champions5–⁠1 in the conference

Consensus All-AmericanWoody Green, RB

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠1 first in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 10
Points
562–⁠296
Coach
Frank Kush
Elo
1737 +52 this season
SP+ rating
14.7 No. 22 of 121; offense No. 1, defense No. 112
SRS
14.8 No. 19 of 127 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Larry Kentera
Captains
Larry Delbridge and Steve Matlock

Drafted in 1973

The 1973 draft
Rd 1Steve Holden WRCleveland Browns
Rd 5Brent McClanahan RBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 5Ed Beverly WRSan Francisco 49ers

1972 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Arizona State5–⁠110–⁠213
BYU5–⁠27–⁠4
Utah5–⁠26–⁠5
Arizona4–⁠34–⁠7
Wyoming3–⁠44–⁠7
New Mexico2–⁠43–⁠8
Colorado State1–⁠41–⁠10
UTEP1–⁠62–⁠8

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