The 1972 BYU Cougars football team represented

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU) for 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 ...

. It was their first year under head coach

LaVell Edwards Reuben LaVell Edwards (October 11, 1930 – December 29, 2016) was an American football head coach for Brigham Young University (BYU). With 257 career victories, he ranks as one of the most successful college football coaches of all time. Among ...

and the Cougars finished over .500 for the first time since 1969.

Schedule

Preseason

Defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

was promoted to

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 ...

in January to take over for the departed Tommy Hudspeth, who ended up as the head coach at

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stude ...

by season's end. BYU was returning 28 players from the previous year but

Golden Richards John Golden Richards (born December 31, 1950) is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. He played college football at Brigham Young University and the Unive ...

would not be one of them. Richards claimed it was because the Cougars were still a run-oriented offense while BYU and Edwards said it was because Richards had trouble keeping with his academics.

Personnel

Starters

Offense

Defense

Broyles, Bob and Paul Guido. ''50 Years of College Football: A Modern History of America's Most Colorful Sport''.

Season summary

Kansas State

Pete Van Valkenburg Pete Van Valkenburg (sometimes referred to as Pete Van Valkenburg) is a former running back in the National Football League. Van Valkenburg was drafted in the third round of the 1973 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints and would play that season ...

rushed for 164 yards on 16 carries, scored on a 59-yard run in the first quarter and set up Dave Terry for BYU's second touchdown. Keith Brumley's 37-yard field goal was Kansas State's only points through the first three quarters. Henry Childs caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Dennis Morrison three minutes into the final quarter for Kansas State.

Utah State

At Oregon State

At Long Beach State

UTEP

Arizona State

At Colorado State

Wyoming

At Arizona

At Utah

BYU's first win versus Utah since

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

At New Mexico

Statistics

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Awards

All-WAC: Dave Atkinson, Dan Hansen, Paul Howard, Paul Linford, Ron Tree, Pete Van Valkenburg WAC Coach of the Year: LaVell Edwards The Deseret News. 20 November 2010
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References

{{BYU Cougars football navbox

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

BYU Cougars football seasons

BYU Cougars football The BYU Cougars football team is the college football program representing Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. The Cougars began collegiate football competition in 1922, and have won 23 conference championships and one national champion ...