CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1972 Texas Tech

8–⁠4 (4–⁠3 Southwest Conference), coached by Jim Carlen.

Schedule and results

Texas Tech in 1972, game by game: won vs. Utah 45–2; won at New Mexico 41–16; lost vs. No. 12 Texas 20–25; won vs. Tulsa 35–18; won at Texas A&M 17–14; won vs. Arizona 35–10; won at No. 18 SMU 17–3; won at Rice 10–6; lost vs. TCU 7–31; won at Baylor 13–7; lost vs. Arkansas 14–24; lost vs. No. 16 North Carolina 28–32+43−24Won 45–2 vs. Utah+43UtahWon 41–16 at New Mexico+25New MexicoLost 20–25 vs. No. 12 Texas-5No. 12 TexasWon 35–18 vs. Tulsa+17TulsaWon 17–14 at Texas A&M+3Texas A&MWon 35–10 vs. Arizona+25ArizonaWon 17–3 at No. 18 SMU+14No. 18 SMUWon 10–6 at Rice+4RiceLost 7–31 vs. TCU-24TCUWon 13–7 at Baylor+6BaylorLost 14–24 vs. Arkansas-10ArkansasLost 28–32 vs. No. 16 North Carolina-4No. 16 North Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16vsUtahW 45–⁠265%
Sep 23atNew MexicoW 41–⁠1640%
Sep 30vs12TexasL 20–⁠2548%
Oct 7vsTulsaW 35–⁠1876%
Oct 14atTexas A&MW 17–⁠1460%
Oct 21vsArizonaW 35–⁠1073%
Oct 28at18SMUW 17–⁠349%
Nov 4atRiceW 10–⁠667%
Nov 11vsTCUL 7–⁠3178%
Nov 18atBaylorW 13–⁠760%
Nov 25vsArkansasL 14–⁠2467%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs16North CarolinaSun BowlL 28–⁠3232%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to North Carolina 32–⁠28 in the Sun Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The 49th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 101 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 9: 18
  2. Wk 10: 15
  3. Wk 12: 20
Record
8–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠3 tied for 2nd in Southwest Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 15
Points
282–⁠188
Coach
Jim Carlen
Elo
1537 +42 this season
SP+ rating
12.8 No. 27 of 121; offense No. 34, defense No. 24
SRS
12.4 No. 27 of 127 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Richard Bell
Offense
No-huddle option
Defense
4–⁠3

All-Southwest Conference

2 first team, 5 second team

First team

  • Russell IngramCAP-1; UPI-1
  • Donald RivesNG

Second team

  • Joe BarnesQBAP-2; UPI-2
  • Doug McCutchenRBUPI-2
  • Harold LyonsOGUPI-2
  • Gaines BatyDEAP-2; UPI-2
  • Quintin RobinsonLBAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1972 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1972 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas7–⁠010–⁠13
Texas Tech4–⁠38–⁠4
SMU4–⁠37–⁠4
Arkansas3–⁠46–⁠5
Rice3–⁠45–⁠5–⁠1
Baylor3–⁠45–⁠6
TCU2–⁠55–⁠6
Texas A&M2–⁠53–⁠8

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