1972 Oklahoma Sooners football team

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American college football season

1972 Big Eight Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Oklahoma $ 6 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 4 Nebraska $ 5 – 1 – 1 9 – 2 – 1
No. 16 Colorado 4 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Oklahoma State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Missouri 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 6 – 0
Iowa State 2 – 4 – 1 5 – 6 – 1
Kansas 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Kansas State 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • The Big 8 Conference mandated Oklahoma forfeits in three conference games, giving Nebraska the title. Oklahoma reverted this record at a later date; hence, both Oklahoma[1] and Nebraska[2] claim this title.

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Oklahoma was a member of the Big Eight Conference and played its home games in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, where it has played its home games since 1923.[3] The team posted an 11–1 overall record and were 6–1 in conference, later changed to 8–4 and 3–4.[4][5] This was Chuck Fairbanks’ last season as Sooner head coach;[4] he left for the New England Patriots of the NFL.

The Sooners’ 1972 record is marred by the use of an ineligible player. In self-reporting the violations to the NCAA, Oklahoma voluntarily forfeited eight games.[6][7][8] The NCAA later penalized the program by reducing scholarships, TV appearances and bowl appearances. In 2008 a blogger for Washington, DC TV station WJLA stated, “The NCAA claims that according to a now-retired statistician of the era, and a review of its database (which the NCAA admits might not be totally complete) that forfeits were NOT [sic] part of the NCAA sanctions levied against the Sooners.” A commenter stated, “The 1972 forfeits by Oklahoma were sanctioned by The Big Eight. As such Oklahoma’s conference record was adjusted, while their overall record was not. In older Oklahoma media guide … Oklahoma would show their record as 11-1 with a 3-4 conference record (reflecting 3 forfeits, despite the original 7 or 8 forfeited. …) Also, if you check the media guides of the teams Oklahoma “forfeited” to, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma State, you’ll not[e] similar adjustments. Each team didn’t change their overall record, but changed their conference record.”[9] Oklahoma had used players (including Kerry Jackson, the team’s first black quarterback) with falsified transcripts and on April 18, 1973, voluntarily forfeited eight games.[10] Eventually, the Big Eight sanctioned the forfeit of three conference victories (Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma State),[11] but Oklahoma now recognizes these as wins and claims the 1972 conference title.[12]

Oklahoma was led by four All-Americans: Rod Shoate (OU’s second three-time All-American),[13]Greg Pruitt,[14]Tom Brahaney[15] and Derland Moore.[16] This was the first season that the Selmon brothers Lucious, Lee Roy and Dewey, all eventual All-Americans,[17] anchored the defensive line. The Sooners played seven ranked opponents (In order, #10 Texas, #9 Colorado, #14 Iowa State, #14 Missouri, #5 Nebraska, #20 Oklahoma State, and #5 Penn State), and four of these opponents finished the season ranked. Oklahoma’s only loss on the field was in the fifth game against Colorado. The team concluded its season with a 14–0 victory over Penn State in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Eve.[5]

Pruitt led the Sooners in rushing with 1024 yards, Dave Robertson led in passing with 1136 yards, and Tinker Owens led in receiving
(for the first of four consecutive seasons) with 430 yards. Pruitt led in scoring with 86 points, Shoate in tackles with 145, and Dan Ruster in interceptions with seven.[18]

The 1972 Sooners twice posted 37 first downs, which was a school record that stood for 16 seasons.[19]

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Schedule[edit]

Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance
September 16 Utah State* No. 4 W 49–0 62,546[20]
September 23 Oregon* No. 2
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
 W 68–3 62,240[20]
September 30 Clemson* No. 2
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
 W 52–3 61,210[20]
October 14 vs. No. 10 Texas* No. 2 ABC W 27–0 72,032[20]
October 21 at No. 9 Colorado No. 2 ABC L 14–20 52,022[20]
October 28 Kansas State No. 8
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
 W 52–0 61,451[20]
November 4 at No. 14 Iowa State No. 7 W 20–6 34,941[20]
November 11 No. 14 Missouri No. 7 W 17–6 62,267[20]
November 18 at Kansas No. 4 W 31–7 37,356[20]
November 23 at No. 5 Nebraska No. 4 ABC W 17–14 76,587[20]
December 2 No. 20 Oklahoma State No. 3 W 38–15 62,363[20]
December 31 vs. No. 5 Penn State* No. 2 ABC W 14–0 80,123[20]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll

Roster[edit]

Game summaries[edit]

Utah State[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Utah St 0 0 0 0 0
• Oklahoma 21 7 14 7 49
  • Date: September 16
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 62,546
Scoring summary
Q1 OKLA Carroll 44 yard pass from Robertson (Carroll kick) OKLA 7–0
Q1 OKLA Pruitt 5 yard run (Carroll kick) OKLA 14–0
Q1 OKLA Burgel 1 yard run (Carroll kick) OKLA 21–0
Q2 OKLA Pruitt 1 yard run (Carroll kick) OKLA 28–0
Q3 OKLA Pruitt 4 yard run (Carroll kick) OKLA 35–0
Q3 OKLA Wylie 12 yard run (Carroll kick) OKLA 42–0
Q4 OKLA Washington 1 yard run (Carroll kick) OKLA 49–0

[21]

  • Kerry Jackson 10 Rush, 109 Yds

Oregon[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Oregon 0 0 0 3 3
• Oklahoma 14 21 26 7 68
  • Date: September 23
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 62,240
  • Greg Pruitt 11 Rush, 103 Yds, TD

Clemson[edit]

#2 Oklahoma Sooners at Clemson Tigers
1 2 3 4 Total
Clemson 0 0 0 3 3
• #2 Oklahoma 7 17 21 7 52
Scoring summary
1 OU Greg Pruitt 5-yard run (Rick Fulcher kick) OU 7-0
2 OU Robertson 1-yard run (Rick Fulcher kick) OU 14-0
2 OU Greg Pruitt 4-yard run (Rick Fulcher kick) OU 21-0
2 OU Rick Fulcher 32-yard field goal OU 24-0
3 OU Robertson 4-yard run (Rick Fulcher kick) OU 31-0
3 OU Greg Pruitt 1-yard run (Rick Fulcher kick) OU 38-0
3 OU Joe Washington 61-yard run (Rick Fulcher kick) OU 45-0
4 OU Powers 57-yard fumble return (Rick Fulcher kick) OU 52-0
4 CLEM Seigler 49-yard field goal OU 52-3

[22]

  • Tim Welch 24 Rush, 158 Yds

Vs. Texas[edit]

At Colorado[edit]

Kansas State[edit]

At Iowa State[edit]

Missouri[edit]

At Kansas[edit]

#4 Oklahoma Sooners at Kansas Jayhawks
1 2 3 4 Total
• #4 Oklahoma 7 10 14 0 31
Kansas 0 0 7 0 7
Scoring summary
1 Oklahoma Robertson 3-yard run (Fulcher kick) Oklahoma 7-0
2 Oklahoma Crosswhite 6-yard run (Fulcher kick) Oklahoma 14-0
2 Oklahoma Fulcher 35-yard field goal Oklahoma 17-0
3 Kansas Schroll 49-yard pass from Jaynes (Helbacher kick) Oklahoma 17-7
3 Oklahoma Wylie 2-yard run (Fulcher kick) Oklahoma 24-7
3 Oklahoma Carroll 24-yard pass from Robertson (Fulcher kick) Oklahoma 31-7

[23]

At Nebraska[edit]

Oklahoma State[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Oklahoma St 0 0 9 6 15
• Oklahoma 14 10 0 14 38
  • Date: December 2
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 62,363
  • Joe Washington 21 Rush, 109 Yds, 2 TD
  • Leon Crosswhite 27 Rush, 106 Yds

Sugar Bowl (vs Penn State)[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Oklahoma 7 0 7 0 14
Penn St 0 0 0 0 0
  • Attendance: 84,031 (Tulane Stadium)
  • OU Owens 27 yd pass from Robertson (Fulcher kick)
  • OU Crosswhite 1 yd run (Fulcher kick)
  • Passing: OU Robertson 3/6, 88 Yds, TD, PSU Hufnagel 12/31, 147 Yds, INT
  • Rushing: OU Pruitt 21/86, PSU Nagle 10/22
  • Receiving: OU Owens 5/132, TD, PSU Scott 3/59

[24]

Rankings[edit]

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Final
AP 6 (2) 4 (12) 2 (11) 2 (14) 2 (13) 2 (15) 2 (20) 8 7 8 4 4 3 2 2
UPI 3 (2) 1 (11) 2 (13) 2 (12) 2 (11) 2 (13) 2 (12) 2 (8) 6 7 4 4 3 2 2

Awards and honors[edit]

Postseason[edit]

NFL draft[edit]

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[25]

References[edit]

  1. ^ “2018 Media Guide” (PDF). soonersports.com. Oklahoma Athletics. p. 6. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  2. ^ “2018 Media Guide” (PDF). huskers.com. Nebraska Athletics. p. 206. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  3. ^ “Memorial Stadium”. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  4. ^ a b “OU Football Tradition – 42 Conference Titles”. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  5. ^ a b “1972 Football Season”. SoonerStats.com. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  6. ^ White, Gordon S. Jr. (April 19, 1973). “OKLAHOMA AGREES TO FORFEIT GAMES Gives Up Eight Victories in Football in Case Involving Player’s Altered Record”. New York Times. New York. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  7. ^ Gems, Gerald R.; Pfister, Gertrud (2017). Touchdown: An American Obsession. Berkshire Publishing Group. p. 74. ISBN 9781614728238. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  8. ^ Dozier, Ray (2013). The Oklahoma Football Encyclopedia: 2nd Edition. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781613216200.
  9. ^ Brant, Tim (January 11, 2008). “After Further Review…The NCAA Weighs In”. WJLA/NewsChannel 8. Archived from the original on September 30, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  10. ^ Cronley, Jay (April 30, 1973). “Oklahoma Penalty: Illegal Procedure: Admitting that Quarterback Kerry Jackson’s high school transcript was altered, the Sooners forfeited eight of their 1972 wins”. Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  11. ^ Edwards, Mark (June 13, 2009). “Forfeits, Voids, Vacations Make Mess of Records”. Decatur Daily. Archived from the original on June 16, 2009. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  12. ^ “1972 season”. soonersports.com. Sooner Sports Properties. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
  13. ^ a b “All-American: Rod Shoate”. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  14. ^ a b “All-American: Greg Pruitt”. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  15. ^ a b “All-American: Tom Brahaney”. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  16. ^ a b “All-American: Derland Moore”. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  17. ^ “OU Football Tradition – All-Americans”. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  18. ^ “2009 Football Record Book” (PDF). Big12sports.com. p. 164. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  19. ^ “2009 Football Record Book” (PDF). Big 12 Conference. p. 164. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l “1972 OU Football Season Schedule – SoonerStats – Historical scores, records, and stats for Oklahoma Sooners football, basketball, baseball, and softball”.
  21. ^ Palm Beach Post. 17 Sep 1972. Retrieved 2017-Jul-15.
  22. ^ “Sooners again.” Eugene Register-Guard. October 1, 1972
  23. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 November 19.
  24. ^ 2018 Oklahoma football media guide. Retrieved 2019-Jan-15.
  25. ^ “1973 NFL Draft Listing”. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.

External links[edit]


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