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.
Schedule [ edit ] 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.
References [ edit ] ^ "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 . External links [ edit ]
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