1972 Washington Huskies football team

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]

1972 Washington Huskies football
ConferencePacific-8 Conference
Record8–3 (4–3 Pac-8)
Head coach
MVPCalvin Jones
Captains
Home stadiumHusky Stadium
Seasons
← 1971
1973 →
1972 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 USC $ 7 0 0 12 0 0
No. 15 UCLA 5 2 0 8 3 0
No. 19 Washington State 4 3 0 7 4 0
Washington 4 3 0 8 3 0
California 3 4 0 3 8 0
Oregon 2 5 0 5 6 0
Stanford 2 5 0 6 5 0
Oregon State 1 6 0 2 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

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.

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 9Pacific (CA)*No. 9W 13–657,500
September 16Duke*No. 12
  • Husky Stadium
  • Seattle, WA
W 14–659,200[13]
September 23at Purdue*No. 15W 22–2160,102
September 30Illinois*No. 14
  • Husky Stadium
  • Seattle, WA
W 31–1160,200
October 7OregonNo. 11
W 23–1761,000[14]
October 14at No. 17 StanfordNo. 12L 0–2456,000[3]
October 21at No. 1 USCNo. 18L 7–3459,151[4]
October 28California
  • Husky Stadium
  • Seattle, WA
W 35–2156,300[5]
November 4at Oregon StateW 23–1631,923[6]
November 11No. 8 UCLA
  • Husky Stadium
  • Seattle, WA
W 30–2159,000[7][8]
November 18at No. 20 Washington StateNo. 17L 10–2734,100[9][10][11][12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

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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
Pos. # Name Class
DB, PK 16 Steve Wiezbowski Sr
FS 18 Bill Cahill (C) Sr
CB 20 Calvin Jones Sr
SS 24 Tony Bonwell Sr
CB 28 Phil Andre Sr
LB 36 Bob Ferguson Sr
LB 37 Ron Shepherd Sr
CB 42 Roberto Jourdan Fr
LB 46 Brian Doheny Jr
DT 50 Don Gorman Sr
DT 59 Gordy Guinn Sr
DE 69 Ben Albrecht Sr
DT 80 Dave Pear So
DE 99 Kurt Matter Sr
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

[15][16][17]

NFL draft selections

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Six UW Huskies were selected in the 1973 NFL draft, which lasted 17 rounds with 442 selections.

= Husky Hall of Fame[18]
Player Position Round Pick Franchise
John Brady Tight end 3rd 58 Detroit Lions
Bill Cahill Defensive back 7th 158 New Orleans Saints
Tom Scott Wide receiver 12th 304 Detroit Lions
Al Kelso Center 13th 330 San Diego Chargers
Calvin Jones Defensive back 15th 373 Denver Broncos
Kurt Matter Defensive end 15th 390 Los Angeles Rams

References

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  1. ^ "Washington Yearly Results (1970-1974)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  2. ^ "Top 2 stay firm in AP grid vote". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. October 10, 1972. p. 17.
  3. ^ a b "Cards dump Huskies, 24-0". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 15, 1972. p. 6C.
  4. ^ a b "Trojans overpower Washington by 34-7". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 22, 1972. p. 4C.
  5. ^ a b "Huskies turn Cal goofs into 35-21 triumph". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. October 29, 1972. p. 4C.
  6. ^ a b Withers, Bud (November 5, 1972). "Huskies prevail as OSU tumbles again". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1D.
  7. ^ a b "Huskies surprise UCLA". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 12, 1972. p. 2C.
  8. ^ a b "Huskies eye goal of best since '60". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. November 13, 1972. p. 17.
  9. ^ a b Emerson, Paul (November 19, 1972). "Inspired Cougars upset Washington 27-10". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 15.
  10. ^ a b "Cougars bounce Huskies". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 19, 1972. p. 5B.
  11. ^ a b Missildine, Harry (November 19, 1972). "Cougar defense unyielding in 27-10 win over Huskies". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  12. ^ a b Brown, Bruce (November 20, 1972). "Cougar title hopes run high". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 14.
  13. ^ "Sixkiller returns to action to lead 14–6 Husky win". The Spokesman-Review. September 17, 1972. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Sixkiller hits three TD passes; Huskies hold off Oregon's surge". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 8, 1972. p. 4, sports.
  15. ^ "WSU vs. Washington (rosters)". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 17, 1972. p. 23.
  16. ^ "Cougars vs. Huskies (rosters)". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 18, 1972. p. 14.
  17. ^ "Cougars (20) face Huskies (17) for top grid ranking in Washington". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 18, 1972. p. 13.
  18. ^ "The Husky Hall of Fame". gohuskies.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
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