CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1972 Oklahoma State

6–⁠5 (4–⁠3 Big Eight), coached by Dave Smith.

Schedule and results

Oklahoma State in 1972, game by game: won vs. Texas–Arlington 21–3; lost at Arkansas 23–24; won vs. No. 3 Colorado 31–6; won vs. Missouri 17–16; lost at Virginia Tech 32–34; won vs. Baylor 20–7; lost at No. 3 Nebraska 0–34; lost vs. Kansas 10–13; won at Kansas State 45–14; won vs. No. 17 Iowa State 45–14; lost at No. 3 Oklahoma 15–38+31−34Won 21–3 vs. Texas–Arlington+18Texas–ArlingtonLost 23–24 at Arkansas-1ArkansasWon 31–6 vs. No. 3 Colorado+25No. 3 ColoradoWon 17–16 vs. Missouri+1MissouriLost 32–34 at Virginia Tech-2Virginia TechWon 20–7 vs. Baylor+13BaylorLost 0–34 at No. 3 Nebraska-34No. 3 NebraskaLost 10–13 vs. Kansas-3KansasWon 45–14 at Kansas State+31Kansas StateWon 45–14 vs. No. 17 Iowa State+31No. 17 Iowa StateLost 15–38 at No. 3 Oklahoma-23No. 3 Oklahoma
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16vsTexas–ArlingtonW 21–⁠385%
Sep 23atArkansasL 23–⁠2430%
Sep 30vs3ColoradoW 31–⁠628%
Oct 7vsMissouriW 17–⁠1674%
Oct 14atVirginia TechL 32–⁠3453%
Oct 21vsBaylorW 20–⁠773%
Oct 28at3NebraskaL 0–⁠3415%
Nov 4vsKansasL 10–⁠1370%
Nov 11atKansas StateW 45–⁠1452%
Nov 25vs17Iowa StateW 45–⁠1446%
Dec 2at3OklahomaL 15–⁠3816%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oklahoma 38–⁠15; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 35th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 115 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 19
  2. Wk 13: 20
Record
6–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Big Eight
AP final
Unranked peak No. 19
Points
259–⁠203
Coach
Dave Smith
Elo
1562 +92 this season
SP+ rating
14.2 No. 24 of 121; offense No. 23, defense No. 32
SRS
15.3 No. 17 of 127 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

All-Big Eight

1 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 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma6–⁠111–⁠12
Nebraska5–⁠1–⁠19–⁠2–⁠14
Colorado4–⁠38–⁠416
Oklahoma State4–⁠36–⁠5
Missouri3–⁠46–⁠6
Iowa State2–⁠4–⁠15–⁠6–⁠1
Kansas2–⁠54–⁠7
Kansas State1–⁠63–⁠8

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