CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1972 Ohio State

9–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Woody Hayes, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 1972, game by game: won vs. Iowa 21–0; won vs. North Carolina 29–14; won at California 35–18; won vs. Illinois 26–7; won vs. Indiana 44–7; won at Wisconsin 28–20; won vs. Minnesota 27–19; lost at Michigan State 12–19; won at Northwestern 27–14; won vs. No. 3 Michigan 14–11; lost vs. No. 1 USC 17–42+37−25Won 21–0 vs. Iowa+21IowaWon 29–14 vs. North Carolina+15North CarolinaWon 35–18 at California+17CaliforniaWon 26–7 vs. Illinois+19IllinoisWon 44–7 vs. Indiana+37IndianaWon 28–20 at Wisconsin+8WisconsinWon 27–19 vs. Minnesota+8MinnesotaLost 12–19 at Michigan State-7Michigan StateWon 27–14 at Northwestern+13NorthwesternWon 14–11 vs. No. 3 Michigan+3No. 3 MichiganLost 17–42 vs. No. 1 USC-25No. 1 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16vsIowaW 21–⁠083%
Sep 30vsNorth CarolinaW 29–⁠1456%
Oct 7atCaliforniaW 35–⁠1863%
Oct 14vsIllinoisW 26–⁠785%
Oct 21vsIndianaW 44–⁠778%
Oct 28atWisconsinW 28–⁠2071%
Nov 4vsMinnesotaW 27–⁠1988%
Nov 11atMichigan StateL 12–⁠1961%
Nov 18atNorthwesternW 27–⁠1477%
Nov 25vs3MichiganW 14–⁠1144%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs1USCRose BowlL 17–⁠4232%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to USC 42–⁠17 in the Rose Bowl; No. 9 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 65th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Big Ten champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Michigan

Led the nationHarold Henson: points (120 pts), points per game (12.0); Champ Henson: rushing touchdowns (20 TD)

Consensus All-AmericanRandy Gradishar, LB

Record
9–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 3
Points
280–⁠171
Coach
Woody Hayes
Elo
1654 +74 this season
SP+ rating
15.4 No. 19 of 121; offense No. 25, defense No. 27
SRS
16.2 No. 15 of 127 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
George Hill
Captains
Richard Galbos and George Hasenohrl
Most valuable player
George Hasenohrl

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second 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 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠110–⁠16
Ohio State7–⁠19–⁠29
Purdue6–⁠26–⁠5
Michigan State5–⁠2–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Minnesota4–⁠44–⁠7
Indiana3–⁠55–⁠6
Illinois3–⁠53–⁠8
Iowa2–⁠6–⁠13–⁠7–⁠1
Wisconsin2–⁠64–⁠7
Northwestern1–⁠82–⁠9

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