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1972 Maryland

5–⁠5–⁠1 (3–⁠2–⁠1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Jerry Claiborne.

Schedule and results

Maryland in 1972, game by game: tied at NC State 24–24; lost vs. North Carolina 26–31; won vs. VMI 28–16; lost at Syracuse 12–16; won vs. Wake Forest 23–0; won vs. Villanova 37–7; lost at Duke 14–20; won at Virginia 24–23; lost at No. 10 Penn State 16–46; won vs. Clemson 31–6; lost at Miami 8–28+30−30Tied 24–24 at NC State0NC StateLost 26–31 vs. North Carolina-5North CarolinaWon 28–16 vs. VMI+12VMILost 12–16 at Syracuse-4SyracuseWon 23–0 vs. Wake Forest+23Wake ForestWon 37–7 vs. Villanova+30VillanovaLost 14–20 at Duke-6DukeWon 24–23 at Virginia+1VirginiaLost 16–46 at No. 10 Penn State-30No. 10 Penn StateWon 31–6 vs. Clemson+25ClemsonLost 8–28 at Miami-20Miami
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9atNC StateT 24–⁠2438%
Sep 16vsNorth CarolinaL 26–⁠3129%
Sep 23vsVMIW 28–⁠1677%
Sep 30atSyracuseL 12–⁠1633%
Oct 7vsWake ForestW 23–⁠046%
Oct 14vsVillanovaW 37–⁠752%
Oct 21atDukeL 14–⁠2037%
Oct 28atVirginiaW 24–⁠2350%
Nov 4at10Penn StateL 16–⁠4612%
Nov 11vsClemsonW 31–⁠656%
Nov 25atMiamiL 8–⁠2840%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Miami 28–⁠8; unranked in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 85th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 120 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.

Record
5–⁠5–⁠1
Conference
3–⁠2–⁠1 3rd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
243–⁠217
Coach
Jerry Claiborne
Elo
1432 +51 this season
SP+ rating
1.5 No. 63 of 121; offense No. 58, defense No. 62
SRS
1.6 No. 57 of 127 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

All-ACC

2 first team

First team

  • Paul VellanoLBUPI
  • Bob SmithDBUPI

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

1972 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
North Carolina6–⁠011–⁠112
NC State4–⁠1–⁠18–⁠3–⁠117
Maryland3–⁠2–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Duke3–⁠35–⁠6
Clemson2–⁠44–⁠7
Virginia1–⁠54–⁠7
Wake Forest1–⁠52–⁠9

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