CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1972 Oklahoma

11–⁠1 (6–⁠1 Big Eight), coached by Chuck Fairbanks, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Oklahoma in 1972, game by game: won vs. Utah State 49–0; won vs. Oregon 68–3; won vs. Clemson 52–3; won vs. No. 10 Texas 27–0; lost at No. 9 Colorado 14–20; won vs. Kansas State 52–0; won at No. 14 Iowa State 20–6; won vs. No. 14 Missouri 17–6; won at Kansas 31–7; won at No. 5 Nebraska 17–14; won vs. No. 20 Oklahoma State 38–15; won vs. No. 5 Penn State 14–0+65−6Won 49–0 vs. Utah State+49Utah StateWon 68–3 vs. Oregon+65OregonWon 52–3 vs. Clemson+49ClemsonWon 27–0 vs. No. 10 Texas+27No. 10 TexasLost 14–20 at No. 9 Colorado-6No. 9 ColoradoWon 52–0 vs. Kansas State+52Kansas StateWon 20–6 at No. 14 Iowa State+14No. 14 Iowa StateWon 17–6 vs. No. 14 Missouri+11No. 14 MissouriWon 31–7 at Kansas+24KansasWon 17–14 at No. 5 Nebraska+3No. 5 NebraskaWon 38–15 vs. No. 20 Oklahoma State+23No. 20 Oklahoma StateWon 14–0 vs. No. 5 Penn State+14No. 5 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16vsUtah StateW 49–⁠075%
Sep 23vsOregonW 68–⁠380%
Sep 30vsClemsonW 52–⁠387%
Oct 14vs10TexasW 27–⁠060%
Oct 21at9ColoradoL 14–⁠2052%
Oct 28vsKansas StateW 52–⁠086%
Nov 4at14Iowa StateW 20–⁠657%
Nov 11vs14MissouriW 17–⁠688%
Nov 18atKansasW 31–⁠783%
Nov 23at5NebraskaW 17–⁠1438%
Dec 2vs20Oklahoma StateW 38–⁠1584%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs5Penn StateSugar BowlW 14–⁠057%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Penn State 14–⁠0 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Big Eight champions.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 Eight champions6–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Nebraska

Heisman voteGreg Pruitt, second

2 consensus All-AmericansTom Brahaney, C; Greg Pruitt, RB

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠1 first in Big Eight
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 2
Points
399–⁠74
Coach
Chuck Fairbanks
Elo
1834 +145 this season
SP+ rating
33.3 No. 2 of 121; offense No. 8, defense No. 2
SRS
32.5 No. 3 of 127 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Barry Switzer
Defensive coordinator
Larry Lacewell
Captains
Tom Brahaney and Greg Pruitt
Offense
Wishbone
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1973

The 1973 draft
Rd 2Derland Moore DENew Orleans Saints
Rd 2Greg Pruitt RBCleveland Browns
Rd 2Al Chandler TECincinnati Bengals
Rd 2Leon Crosswhite RBDetroit Lions
Rd 4Joe Wylie WROakland Raiders
Rd 5Tom Brahaney CSt. Louis Cardinals
Rd 7Ken Jones OTSt. Louis Cardinals

All-Big Eight

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 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.