The 1972 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

in the

1972 NCAA University Division football season The 1972 NCAA University Division football season saw the USC Trojans, coached by John McKay, go undefeated and win the national championship as the unanimous choice of the 50 AP panelists. Eighth-ranked in the preseason, the Trojans were narrow ...

. Oklahoma was a member of the

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...

and played its home games in

Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, also known as Owen Field or The Palace on the Prairie, is the football stadium on the campus of the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. It serves as the home of the Oklahoma Sooners football team. ...

, where it has played its home games since 1923. The team posted an overall record and were in conference, later changed to and This was

Chuck Fairbanks Charles Leo Fairbanks (June 10, 1933 – April 2, 2013) was a football coach who was a head coach at the high school, college and professional levels. He served as the head coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1967 to 1972 and at the Universi ...

' last season as Sooner

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

; he left for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

of the NFL. The Sooners' 1972 record is marred by the use of an ineligible player. In self-reporting the violations to the NCAA, Oklahoma voluntarily forfeited eight games. The NCAA later penalized the program by reducing scholarships, TV appearances and bowl appearances. In 2008 a blogger for Washington, DC TV station

WJLA WJLA-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Washington, D.C., affiliated with ABC. It is one of two flagship stations of Sinclair Broadcast Group (alongside dual Fox/MyNetworkTV affiliate WBFF hannel 45in Baltimore), and is also sister to ...

stated, "The NCAA claims that according to a now-retired statistician of the era, and a review of its database (which the NCAA admits might not be totally complete) that forfeits were NOT part of the NCAA sanctions levied against the Sooners." A commenter stated, "The 1972 forfeits by Oklahoma were sanctioned by The Big Eight. As such Oklahoma's conference record was adjusted, while their overall record was not. In older Oklahoma media guide ... Oklahoma would show their record as 11-1 with a 3-4 conference record (reflecting 3 forfeits, despite the original 7 or 8 forfeited. ...) Also, if you check the media guides of the teams Oklahoma "forfeited" to, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma State, you'll not similar adjustments. Each team didn't change their overall record, but changed their conference record." Oklahoma had used players (including Kerry Jackson, the team's first black

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

) with falsified transcripts and on April 18, 1973, voluntarily forfeited eight games. Eventually, the Big Eight sanctioned the forfeit of three conference victories (

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, and

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

), but Oklahoma now recognizes these as wins and claims the 1972 conference title. Oklahoma was led by four

All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

Rod Shoate Roderick Shoate (April 26, 1953 – October 4, 1999) was an American football linebacker in the National Football League. He was a four-time All-Big 8 Conference Player and a three-time All-American at the University of Oklahoma. He played seven ...

(OU's second three-time All-American),

Greg Pruitt Gregory Donald Pruitt (born August 18, 1951) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) from 1973 through 1984. He was selected to five Pro Bowls, four as a member of the Cleveland Browns and one as a member o ...

Tom Brahaney Thomas Brahaney (born October 23, 1951) is a former American football center who played nine seasons in the National Football League for the St. Louis Cardinals. He played college football at Oklahoma, where he was an All-American. In 1971, he a ...

and

Derland Moore Derland Paul Moore (October 7, 1951 – September 24, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a defensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints and the New York Jets. An All-American, he p ...

. This was the first season that the Selmon brothers

Lucious Lucious is a masculine given name, popular in the United States. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Lucious Boyd (born 1959), American serial killer * Lucious Harris (born 1970), American basketball player * Lucious Jackson (1941– ...

, Lee Roy and Dewey, all eventual All-Americans, anchored the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

. The Sooners played seven ranked opponents (In order, #10

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, #9

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, #14

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

, #14

, #5

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, #20

, and #5

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

), and four of these opponents finished the season ranked. Oklahoma's only loss on the field was in the fifth game against Colorado. The team concluded its season with a victory over

in the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

on New Year's Eve. Pruitt led the Sooners in rushing with 1024 yards, Dave Robertson led in passing with 1136 yards, and

Tinker Owens Charles Wayne "Tinker" Owens is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for four seasons for the New Orleans Saints (1976, 1978–1980) in the National Football League The National Football League (NFL) ...

led in receiving (for the first of four consecutive seasons) with 430 yards. Pruitt led in scoring with 86 points, Shoate in tackles with 145, and Dan Ruster in

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

s with seven. The 1972 Sooners twice posted 37 first downs, which was a school record that stood for 16 seasons.

Schedule

Roster

Game summaries

Utah State

*Kerry Jackson 10 Rush, 109 Yds

Oregon

*Greg Pruitt 11 Rush, 103 Yds, TD

Clemson

*Tim Welch 24 Rush, 158 Yds

vs. Texas

at Colorado

Kansas State

at Iowa State

Missouri

at Kansas

at Nebraska

Oklahoma State

*Joe Washington 21 Rush, 109 Yds, 2 TD *Leon Crosswhite 27 Rush, 106 Yds

Sugar Bowl (vs Penn State)

*Attendance: 84,031 (

Tulane Stadium Tulane Stadium was an outdoor football stadium that stood in New Orleans from 1926 to 1980. It was officially the Third Tulane Stadium and replaced the "Second Tulane Stadium", which was located where the Telephone Exchange Building is now. Th ...

) *OU Owens 27 yd pass from Robertson (Fulcher kick) *OU Crosswhite 1 yd run (Fulcher kick) *Passing: OU Robertson 3/6, 88 Yds, TD, PSU Hufnagel 12/31, 147 Yds, INT *Rushing: OU Pruitt 21/86, PSU Nagle 10/22 *Receiving: OU Owens 5/132, TD, PSU Scott 3/59

Rankings

Awards and honors

* All-American:

and

Postseason

NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.

References

External links

Sports Reference
– 1972 Oklahoma football season {{Oklahoma Sooners football navbox

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Oklahoma Sooners football seasons Sugar Bowl champion seasons

Oklahoma Sooners football The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma (variously "Oklahoma" or "OU"). The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (forme ...