1972 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

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1972 Arizona State Sun Devils football
WAC champion
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 49–35 vs. Missouri
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 13
APNo. 13
Record10–2 (5–1 WAC)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorLarry Kentera (2nd season)
Captains
  • Larry Delbridge
  • Steve Matlock
Home stadiumSun Devil Stadium
1972 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 13 Arizona State $5–1–010–2–0
BYU5–2–07–4–0
Utah5–2–06–5–0
Arizona4–3–04–7–0
Wyoming3–4–04–7–0
New Mexico2–4–03–8–0
Colorado State1–4–01–10–0
UTEP1–6–02–8–0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 Arizona State Sun Devils football team represented Arizona State University as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Led by 15th-year head coach Frank Kush, the Sun Devils compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 5–1, winning the WAC title for the fourth consecutive season. Arizona State earned a berth in the Fiesta Bowl, where the Sun Devils defeated Missouri. The team played home games at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 16at Houston*No. 13
W 33–2824,628[1]
September 23Kansas State*No. 10
W 56–1450,682[2]
September 30at WyomingNo. 11
L 43–4519,298[3]
October 7Oregon State*
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
W 38–750,879[4]
October 14Utah
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
W 59–4849,168[5]
October 21at BYUNo. 19
W 49–1723,561[6]
October 281:30 p.m.Air Force*No. 16
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
L 31–3947,091[7]
November 4at UTEP
W 55–147,414[8]
November 11New MexicodaggerNo. 19
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
W 60–744,172[9]
November 187:30 p.m.San Jose State*No. 18
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
W 51–2143,912[10]
November 25at ArizonaNo. 18
W 38–2138,500[11]
December 23vs. Missouri*No. 15
W 49–3551,318[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Mountain time

[13]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
AP12131011——1916—1918181513

Game summaries

Houston

Team 1 234Total
• Arizona St 20 1003 33
Houston 14 0014 28
Scoring summary
1Arizona StHolden 55-yard pass from White (Cruz kick)Arizona St 7-0
1Arizona StHolden 52-yard pass from White (kick failed)Arizona St 13-0
1Arizona StGreen 9-yard run (Cruz kick)Arizona St 20-0
1HoustonNobles 1-yard run (Terrell kick)Arizona St 20-7
1HoustonEvans 20-yard interception return (Terrell kick)Arizona St 20-14
2Arizona StMcClanahan 2-yard run (Cruz kick)Arizona St 27-14
2Arizona StCruz 44-yard field goalArizona St 30-14
4HoustonWatts 17-yard pass from Nobles (Terrell kick)Arizona St 30-21
4Arizona StCruz 38-yard field goalArizona St 33-21
4HoustonJohnson 46-yard pass from Nobles (Terrell kick)Arizona St 33-28

[14]

Personnel

Coaching staff

Head coach: Frank Kush

Assistants: Don Baker (offensive backfield), Larry Kentera (DE/LB), Jerry Thompson (DL), Al Luginbill (DB), Joe McDonald (WR), Al Tanara (OL), Bill Kajikawa (freshman)[15]

Depth chart

Offense

POS Name
QBDanny White
HBWoody Green
FBBrent McClanahan
SEEd Beverly
WBSteve Holden
TEJoe Petty
LTSteve Gunther
LGJohn Houser
CRon Lou
RGSteve Matlock
RTEd Kindig

Defense

POS Name
LDELarry Shorty
LDTDeke Ballard
MGTim Hoban
RDTNeal Skarin
LLBBob Breunig
RLBLarry Delbridge
LCBReedy Hall
RCBPrentice McCray
WSWayne Bradley
SSRon Lumpkin
KJuan Cruz

[15]

1972 team players in the NFL

The following players were claimed in the 1973 NFL draft.

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Steve HoldenWide receiver116Cleveland Browns
Brent McClanahanRunning back5118Minnesota Vikings
Ed BeverlyWide receiver5122San Francisco 49ers
Prentice McCrayDefensive back8200Detroit Lions
Ron LouCenter14339Houston Oilers
Ron LumpkinDefensive back12303New York Giants

[16]

References

  1. "Sun Devils nip Cougars by 33–28". San Antonio Express-News. September 17, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "A-State smothers Kansas State, 56–14". The Arizona Republic. September 24, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Cowboys nip Sun Devils". The Sacramento Bee. October 1, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Sun Devils roll past OSU 38–7". Tacoma News Tribune. October 8, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Furious Utah rally fails as Devils nab 59–48 win". The Salt Lake Tribune. October 15, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Slow-starting Devils drub BYU, 49–17". The Arizona Republic. October 15, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Falcons upset Arizona State". The Tulsa World. October 29, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Arizona State hopes flicker". Rapid City Journal. November 5, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Sun Devils overwhelm New Mexico". The Arizona Daily Star. November 12, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Arizona State blasts San Jose". The Spokesman-Review. November 19, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Arizona St. wins Fiesta Bowl trip". Lincoln Journal Star. November 26, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Arizona State, Green too much for Tigers". The Kansas City Star. December 24, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "1972 NCAA Football Statistics (Arizona State)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  14. Palm Beach Post. 1972 September 17
  15. 2010 Arizona State football media guide
  16. "1973 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.