From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American college football season
The 1972 Washington Huskies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Washington during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season . In its 16th season under head coach Jim Owens , the team compiled an 8–3 record, finished in a tie for third place in the Pacific-8 Conference , and outscored its opponents by a combined total of 208 to 204.[ 1]
Defensive back Bill Cahill and quarterback Sonny Sixkiller were the team captains , and defensive back Calvin Jones was selected as the team's most valuable player.
A top ten pick in the preseason, the Huskies were undefeated after five games and ranked twelfth in the AP Poll ,[ 2] but Sixkiller suffered ankle and knee injuries early in the Stanford game in mid-October.[ 3] Quarterbacks Greg Collins, Dennis Fitzpatrick, and Mark Backman then led the offense, with losses at Stanford and #1 USC ,[ 4] followed by consecutive wins over California and Oregon State .[ 5] [ 6]
Sixkiller returned to the lineup for senior day at Husky Stadium on November 11 and Washington beat #8 UCLA ,[ 7] [ 8] but dropped the Apple Cup to #20 Washington State at Spokane .[ 9] [ 10] [ 11] [ 12] The Pac-8 did not allow a second bowl team until the 1975 season.
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 9 Pacific (CA) * No. 9 W 13–657,500
September 16 Duke * No. 12 W 14–659,200 [ 13]
September 23 at Purdue * No. 15 W 22–2160,102
September 30 Illinois * No. 14 W 31–1160,200
October 7 Oregon No. 11 W 23–1761,000 [ 14]
October 14 at No. 17 Stanford No. 12 L 0–2456,000
October 21 at No. 1 USC No. 18 L 7–3459,151
October 28 California W 35–2156,300
November 4 at Oregon State W 23–1631,923
November 11 No. 8 UCLA W 30–2159,000
November 18 at No. 20 Washington State No. 17 L 10–2734,100
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
1972 Washington Huskies football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
TB
5
Glen Bonner
Jr
QB
6
Sonny Sixkiller (C)
Sr
QB
10
Mark Backman
So
QB
14
Dennis Fitzpatrick
So
QB
15
Greg Collins
Sr
FL
17
Scott Loomis
Sr
WR
26
Tom Scott
Sr
FB
30
Pete Taggares
Jr
C
56
Al Kelso
Sr
G
63
Steve Wallin
Sr
G
64
Pete Elswick
Jr
OT
70
Steve Schulte
Sr
OT
72
Jim Smith
Sr
TE
87
John Brady
Sr
Defense
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
P
3
Skip Boyd
So
PK
16
Steve Wiezbowski
Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Source: [ 15] [ 16] [ 17]
NFL draft selections [ edit ]
Six University of Washington Huskies were selected in the 1973 NFL draft , which lasted seventeen rounds with 442 selections.
^ "Washington Yearly Results (1970-1974)" . College Football Data Warehouse . David DeLassus. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015 .
^ "Top 2 stay firm in AP grid vote" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). Associated Press. October 10, 1972. p. 17.
^ "Cards dump Huskies, 24-0" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. October 15, 1972. p. 6C.
^ "Trojans overpower Washington by 34-7" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. October 22, 1972. p. 4C.
^ "Huskies turn Cal goofs into 35-21 triumph" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). UPI. October 29, 1972. p. 4C.
^ Withers, Bud (November 5, 1972). "Huskies prevail as OSU tumbles again" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). p. 1D.
^ "Huskies surprise UCLA" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. November 12, 1972. p. 2C.
^ "Huskies eye goal of best since '60" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). Associated Press. November 13, 1972. p. 17.
^ Emerson, Paul (November 19, 1972). "Inspired Cougars upset Washington 27-10" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). p. 15.
^ "Cougars bounce Huskies" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. November 19, 1972. p. 5B.
^ Missildine, Harry (November 19, 1972). "Cougar defense unyielding in 27-10 win over Huskies" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
^ Brown, Bruce (November 20, 1972). "Cougar title hopes run high" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). p. 14.
^ "Sixkiller returns to action to lead 14–6 Husky win" . The Spokesman-Review . September 17, 1972. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Sixkiller hits three TD passes; Huskies hold off Oregon's surge" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 8, 1972. p. 4, sports.
^ "WSU vs. Washington (rosters)" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). November 17, 1972. p. 23.
^ "Cougars vs. Huskies (rosters)" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). November 18, 1972. p. 14.
^ "Cougars (20) face Huskies (17) for top grid ranking in Washington" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). November 18, 1972. p. 13.
^ "The Husky Hall of Fame" . gohuskies.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019 .
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold