1972 LSU

9–⁠2–⁠1 (4–⁠1–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Charles McClendon, finished No. 11 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

LSU in 1972, game by game: won vs. Pacific 31–13; won vs. Texas A&M 42–17; won vs. Wisconsin 27–7; won at Rice 12–6; won vs. No. 9 Auburn 35–7; won vs. Kentucky 10–0; won vs. Ole Miss 17–16; lost at No. 2 Alabama 21–35; won vs. Mississippi State 28–14; tied at Florida 3–3; won at Tulane 9–3; lost vs. No. 11 Tennessee 17–24+28−14Won 31–13 vs. Pacific+18PacificWon 42–17 vs. Texas A&M+25Texas A&MWon 27–7 vs. Wisconsin+20WisconsinWon 12–6 at Rice+6RiceWon 35–7 vs. No. 9 Auburn+28No. 9 AuburnWon 10–0 vs. Kentucky+10KentuckyWon 17–16 vs. Ole Miss+1Ole MissLost 21–35 at No. 2 Alabama-14No. 2 AlabamaWon 28–14 vs. Mississippi State+14Mississippi Sta…Tied 3–3 at Florida0FloridaWon 9–3 at Tulane+6TulaneLost 17–24 vs. No. 11 Tennessee-7No. 11 Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16vsPacificW 31–⁠1386%
Sep 23vsTexas A&MW 42–⁠1779%
Sep 30vsWisconsinW 27–⁠779%
Oct 7atRiceW 12–⁠669%
Oct 14vs9AuburnW 35–⁠759%
Oct 21vsKentuckyW 10–⁠088%
Nov 4vsOle MissW 17–⁠1674%
Nov 11at2AlabamaL 21–⁠3534%
Nov 18vsMississippi StateW 28–⁠1485%
Nov 25atFloridaT 3–⁠362%
Dec 2atTulaneW 9–⁠367%
Dec 30vs11TennesseeAstro-Bluebonnet BowlL 17–⁠2446%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tennessee 24–⁠17 in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl; No. 11 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 24th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Record
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠1–⁠1 3rd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 11 peak No. 6
Points
252–⁠145
Coach
Charles McClendon
Elo
1705 +58 this season
SP+ rating
20.2 No. 11 of 121; offense No. 40, defense No. 7
SRS
18.8 No. 11 of 127 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

Drafted in 1973

The 1973 draft
Rd 1Bert Jones QBBaltimore Colts
Rd 3John Wood DTDenver Broncos

All-SEC

4 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • Brad BoydTEAP-2
  • Tyler LafauciOGAP-2
  • Mike WilliamsDBAP-2
  • Rusty JacksonPAP-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.