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1972 Kent State

6–⁠5–⁠1 (4–⁠1 Mid-American Conference), coached by Don James.

Schedule and results

Kent State in 1972, game by game: tied at Akron 13–13; lost at Louisville 0–34; won vs. Ohio 37–14; lost vs. San Diego State 0–14; lost vs. Western Michigan 12–13; won at Bowling Green 14–10; won vs. Xavier 26–16; lost at Northern Illinois 7–28; won at Marshall 16–14; won at Miami (OH) 21–10; won vs. Toledo 27–9; lost vs. Tampa 18–21+23−34Tied 13–13 at Akron0AkronLost 0–34 at Louisville-34LouisvilleWon 37–14 vs. Ohio+23OhioLost 0–14 vs. San Diego State-14San Diego StateLost 12–13 vs. Western Michigan-1Western MichiganWon 14–10 at Bowling Green+4Bowling GreenWon 26–16 vs. Xavier+10XavierLost 7–28 at Northern Illinois-21Northern Illino…Won 16–14 at Marshall+2MarshallWon 21–10 at Miami (OH)+11Miami (OH)Won 27–9 vs. Toledo+18ToledoLost 18–21 vs. Tampa-3Tampa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9atAkronT 13–⁠1370%
Sep 16atLouisvilleL 0–⁠3423%
Sep 23vsOhioW 37–⁠1439%
Sep 30vsSan Diego StateL 0–⁠1440%
Oct 7vsWestern MichiganL 12–⁠1338%
Oct 14atBowling GreenW 14–⁠1022%
Oct 21vsXavierW 26–⁠1667%
Oct 28atNorthern IllinoisL 7–⁠2842%
Nov 4atMarshallW 16–⁠1465%
Nov 11atMiami (OH)W 21–⁠1019%
Nov 18vsToledoW 27–⁠942%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsTampaTangerine BowlL 18–⁠2141%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tampa 21–⁠18 in the Tangerine Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Mid-American Conference champions.

In program history: The tied 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 68 on file).

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.

Mid-American Conference champions4–⁠1 in the conference

Record
6–⁠5–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠1 first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
191–⁠196
Coach
Don James
Elo
1477 +89 this season
SP+ rating
4.6 No. 53 of 121; offense No. 89, defense No. 27
SRS
−8.4 No. 94 of 127 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Dick Scesniak
Defensive coordinator
Dennis Fitzgerald

1972 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Kent State4–⁠16–⁠5–⁠1
Bowling Green3–⁠1–⁠16–⁠3–⁠1
Western Michigan2–⁠2–⁠17–⁠3–⁠1
Miami (OH)2–⁠37–⁠3
Toledo2–⁠36–⁠5
Ohio1–⁠43–⁠8

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