CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1972 Penn State

10–⁠2, coached by Joe Paterno, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Penn State in 1972, game by game: lost at No. 7 Tennessee 21–28; won vs. Navy 21–10; won vs. Iowa 14–10; won at Illinois 35–17; won at Army 45–0; won vs. Syracuse 17–0; won at No. 18 West Virginia 28–19; won vs. Maryland 46–16; won vs. NC State 37–22; won at Boston College 45–26; won vs. Pittsburgh 49–27; lost vs. No. 2 Oklahoma 0–14+45−14Lost 21–28 at No. 7 Tennessee-7No. 7 TennesseeWon 21–10 vs. Navy+11NavyWon 14–10 vs. Iowa+4IowaWon 35–17 at Illinois+18IllinoisWon 45–0 at Army+45ArmyWon 17–0 vs. Syracuse+17SyracuseWon 28–19 at No. 18 West Virginia+9No. 18 West VirginiaWon 46–16 vs. Maryland+30MarylandWon 37–22 vs. NC State+15NC StateWon 45–26 at Boston College+19Boston CollegeWon 49–27 vs. Pittsburgh+22PittsburghLost 0–14 vs. No. 2 Oklahoma-14No. 2 Oklahoma
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16at7TennesseeL 21–⁠2840%
Sep 23vsNavyW 21–⁠1085%
Sep 30vsIowaW 14–⁠1088%
Oct 7atIllinoisW 35–⁠1777%
Oct 14atArmyW 45–⁠069%
Oct 21vsSyracuseW 17–⁠085%
Oct 28at18West VirginiaW 28–⁠1958%
Nov 4vsMarylandW 46–⁠1688%
Nov 11vsNC StateW 37–⁠2279%
Nov 18atBoston CollegeW 45–⁠2677%
Nov 25vsPittsburghW 49–⁠2794%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs2OklahomaSugar BowlL 0–⁠1443%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oklahoma 14–⁠0 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 5
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 11
  4. Wk 4: 13
  5. Wk 5: 16
  6. Wk 6: 15
  7. Wk 7: 12
  8. Wk 8: 11
  9. Wk 9: 10
  10. Wk 10: 10
  11. Wk 11: 6
  12. Wk 12: 6
  13. Wk 13: 5
  14. Wk 14: 5
  15. Final: 10

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.

Led the nationJohn Hufnagel: passer rating (148.0)

2 consensus All-AmericansBruce Bannon, DE; John Skorupan, LB

Walter Camp Coach of the YearJoe Paterno, coach

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
—
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 5
Points
358–⁠189
Coach
Joe Paterno
Elo
1740 +65 this season
SP+ rating
20.7 No. 9 of 121; offense No. 10, defense No. 29
SRS
18.4 No. 12 of 127 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Jim O’Hora
Captains
Gregg Ducatte, Jim Heller, John Hufnagel and Carl Schaukowitch
Offense
I formation
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1973

The 1973 draft
Rd 3Jim Laslavic LBDetroit Lions
Rd 5Bruce Bannon LBNew York Jets
Rd 6John Skorupan LBBuffalo Bills