1972 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

1972 South Carolina Gamecocks football
Conference	Independent
Record	4–7
Head coach	Paul Dietzel (7th season)
Home stadium	Carolina Stadium (Capacity: 53,865)

1972 NCAA University Division independents football records

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 Penn State			–					10	–	2	–	0
No. 14 Notre Dame			–					8	–	3	–	0
Utah State			–					8	–	3	–	0
West Virginia			–					8	–	4	–	0
Florida State			–					7	–	4	–	0
Northern Illinois			–					7	–	4	–	0
Rutgers			–					7	–	4	–	0
No. 20 Georgia Tech			–					7	–	4	–	1
Air Force			–					6	–	4	–	0
Army			–					6	–	4	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					6	–	4	–	1
Houston			–					6	–	4	–	1
Tulane			–					6	–	5	–	0
Temple			–					5	–	4	–	0
Colgate			–					5	–	4	–	1
Holy Cross			–					5	–	4	–	1
Syracuse			–					5	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					5	–	6	–	0
Dayton			–					4	–	6	–	1
Boston College			–					4	–	7	–	0
Navy			–					4	–	7	–	0
South Carolina			–					4	–	7	–	0
Southern Miss			–					3	–	7	–	1
Xavier			–					3	–	8	–	0
Marshall			–					2	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati			–					2	–	9	–	0
Villanova			–					2	–	9	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina as an independent in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The Gamecocks finished the season 4–7 overall.

South Carolina did not play Atlantic Coast Conference teams Duke, Maryland and North Carolina. The Gamecocks were ACC members from its formation in 1953 through the 1970-71 academic year. South Carolina was a football independent in 1971, but played all seven ACC schools.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	Virginia	Carolina Stadium Columbia, South Carolina	L 16–24	43,695
September 16	at Georgia Tech	Grant Field Atlanta, Georgia	L 6-34	48,224
September 30	No. 20 Ole Miss	Carolina Stadium Columbia, South Carolina	L 0-21	48,405
September 30	Memphis State	Carolina Stadium Columbia, South Carolina	W 34-7	37,893
October 14	Appalachian State	Carolina Stadium Columbia, South Carolina	W 41-7	36,836
October 21	Ohio	Carolina Stadium Columbia, South Carolina	L 8-21	40,351
October 28	at No. 9 NC State	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, North Carolina (rivalry)	L 24-42	32,200
November 4	Wake Forest	Carolina Stadium Columbia, South Carolina	W 35-3	38,689
November 11	at Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, Virginia	L 20-45	30,000
November 18	Florida State	Carolina Stadium Columbia, South Carolina	W 24-21	35,585
November 25	at Clemson	Memorial Stadium Clemson, South Carolina (Palmetto Bowl)	L 6-7	45,000
Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game