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1972 NC State

8–⁠3–⁠1 (4–⁠1–⁠1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Lou Holtz, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

NC State in 1972, game by game: tied vs. Maryland 24–24; won vs. Syracuse 43–20; lost at North Carolina 33–34; lost at Georgia 22–28; won vs. Duke 17–0; won at Wake Forest 42–13; won vs. East Carolina 38–16; won vs. South Carolina 42–24; won at Virginia 35–14; lost at No. 10 Penn State 22–37; won vs. Clemson 42–17; won vs. No. 18 West Virginia 49–13+36−15Tied 24–24 vs. Maryland0MarylandWon 43–20 vs. Syracuse+23SyracuseLost 33–34 at North Carolina-1North CarolinaLost 22–28 at Georgia-6GeorgiaWon 17–0 vs. Duke+17DukeWon 42–13 at Wake Forest+29Wake ForestWon 38–16 vs. East Carolina+22East CarolinaWon 42–24 vs. South Carolina+18South CarolinaWon 35–14 at Virginia+21VirginiaLost 22–37 at No. 10 Penn State-15No. 10 Penn StateWon 42–17 vs. Clemson+25ClemsonWon 49–13 vs. No. 18 West Virginia+36No. 18 West Virginia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9vsMarylandT 24–⁠2462%
Sep 16vsSyracuseW 43–⁠2043%
Sep 23atNorth CarolinaL 33–⁠3423%
Sep 30atGeorgiaL 22–⁠2821%
Oct 7vsDukeW 17–⁠050%
Oct 14atWake ForestW 42–⁠1348%
Oct 21vsEast CarolinaW 38–⁠1662%
Oct 28vsSouth CarolinaW 42–⁠2469%
Nov 4atVirginiaW 35–⁠1467%
Nov 11at10Penn StateL 22–⁠3721%
Nov 18vsClemsonW 42–⁠1775%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs18West VirginiaPeach BowlW 49–⁠1343%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat West Virginia 49–⁠13 in the Peach Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The tied 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Final: 17

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
8–⁠3–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠1–⁠1 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 17
Points
409–⁠240
Coach
Lou Holtz
Elo
1607 +194 this season
SP+ rating
18.9 No. 14 of 121; offense No. 6, defense No. 62
SRS
16.1 No. 16 of 127 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Brian Burke

All-ACC

7 first team

First team

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

Conference page
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.