CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1972 USC

12–⁠0 (7–⁠0 Pac-8), coached by John McKay, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1972, game by game: won at No. 4 Arkansas 31–10; won vs. Oregon State 51–6; won at Illinois 55–20; won vs. Michigan State 51–6; won at No. 15 Stanford 30–21; won vs. California 42–14; won vs. No. 18 Washington 34–7; won at Oregon 18–0; won at Washington State 44–3; won at No. 14 UCLA 24–7; won vs. No. 10 Notre Dame 45–23; won vs. No. 3 Ohio State 42–17+45Won 31–10 at No. 4 Arkansas+21No. 4 ArkansasWon 51–6 vs. Oregon State+45Oregon StateWon 55–20 at Illinois+35IllinoisWon 51–6 vs. Michigan State+45Michigan StateWon 30–21 at No. 15 Stanford+9No. 15 StanfordWon 42–14 vs. California+28CaliforniaWon 34–7 vs. No. 18 Washington+27No. 18 WashingtonWon 18–0 at Oregon+18OregonWon 44–3 at Washington State+41Washington StateWon 24–7 at No. 14 UCLA+17No. 14 UCLAWon 45–23 vs. No. 10 Notre Dame+22No. 10 Notre DameWon 42–17 vs. No. 3 Ohio State+25No. 3 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9at4ArkansasW 31–⁠1039%
Sep 16vsOregon StateW 51–⁠676%
Sep 23atIllinoisW 55–⁠2072%
Sep 30vsMichigan StateW 51–⁠674%
Oct 7at15StanfordW 30–⁠2144%
Oct 14vsCaliforniaW 42–⁠1487%
Oct 21vs18WashingtonW 34–⁠773%
Oct 28atOregonW 18–⁠080%
Nov 4atWashington StateW 44–⁠377%
Nov 18at14UCLAW 24–⁠763%
Dec 2vs10Notre DameW 45–⁠2368%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3Ohio StateRose BowlW 42–⁠1768%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Ohio State 42–⁠17 in the Rose Bowl; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Pac-8 champions.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Pac-8 champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Consensus All-AmericanCharle Young, TE

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearJohn McKay, coach

Record
12–⁠0
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Pac-8
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
467–⁠134
Coach
John McKay
Elo
1823 +231 this season
SP+ rating
34.2 No. 1 of 121; offense No. 2, defense No. 14
SRS
35.0 No. 1 of 127 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
John Robinson
Captains
Sam Cunningham and John Grant

Drafted in 1973

The 1973 draft
Rd 1Charle Young TEPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 1Sam Cunningham RBNew England Patriots
Rd 1Pete Adams OGCleveland Browns
Rd 2Jeff Winans DTBuffalo Bills
Rd 4Allen Gallaher OTNew England Patriots
Rd 5Edesel Garrison WRHouston Oilers
Rd 7John Grant DEDenver Broncos

All-Pac-8

8 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 Pac-8 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC7–⁠012–⁠01
UCLA5–⁠28–⁠315
Washington4–⁠38–⁠3
Washington State4–⁠37–⁠419
California3–⁠43–⁠8
Stanford2–⁠56–⁠5
Oregon2–⁠54–⁠7
Oregon State1–⁠62–⁠9

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