The 1972

Grantland Rice Bowl The Grantland Rice Bowl was an annual college football bowl game from 1964 through 1977, in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's College Division, for smaller universities and colleges, and later NCAA Division II, Division II. The ...

was an

NCAA College Division The NCAA College Division was a historic subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) consisting of member schools competing at a lower level of college sports. The NCAA initially divided schools into a College Division and a ...

game following the 1972 season, between the

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters, commonly abbreviated La. Tech and Dawgs, refer to the sports teams of Louisiana Tech University, in Ruston, Louisiana. The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports. Since 2013, Louisiana Tech has been ...

and the

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Tennessee Technological University (TTU), located in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. The TTU athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and c ...

. Louisiana Tech

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 ...

Denny Duron was named outstanding offensive player, while his teammate

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

Joe McNeely was named outstanding defensive player.

Notable participants

Louisiana Tech wide receiver

Roger Carr Roger Dale Carr (born July 1, 1952) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Baltimore Colts. He was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 1976 s ...

was selected in the

1974 NFL Draft The 1974 NFL draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York, on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams were granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks. Many experts consider the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers to have h ...

, while

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Fred Dean Frederick Rudolph Dean (February 24, 1952 – October 14, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). A twice first-team All-Pro and a four-time Pro Bowler, he won two Super ...

and

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Roland Harper Roland Harper (born February 28, 1953) is a former professional American football player who played running back for eight seasons for the Chicago Bears. He was selected in the 17th and final round of the 1975 draft from Louisiana Tech. He was ...

were selected in the

1975 NFL Draft The 1975 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartko ...

, and

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

Mike Barber was selected in the

1976 NFL Draft The 1976 National Football League draft was an annual player selection meeting held April 8–9, 1976, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York. The draft lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks m ...

. Carr, Dean, Harper, Barber, and Joe McNeely are inductees of their university's athletic hall of fame, as is head coach

Maxie Lambright Maxie Thomas Lambright (June 23, 1924 – January 28, 1980) was the head coach of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team from 1967 to 1978 and the Louisiana Tech University athletic director from 1970 to 1978. He led Louisiana Tech to three Div ...

. Dean is an inductee of both the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

and the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

. Tennessee Tech linebackers

Jim Youngblood Jimmy Lee Youngblood (born February 23, 1950) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Commanders, Washington Redskins. He played college football at Tennessee Technolo ...

and Mike Hennigan were selected in the 1973 NFL Draft. Youngblood, Hennigan,

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

John Fitzpatrick, and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

Howard Cochran are inductees of their university's sports hall of fame, as is head coach

Don Wade James Donald Wade (August 10, 1928 – June 7, 2007) was an American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at Tennessee Technological University from 1968 to 1982, compiling a record of 81–78–3. Wade w ...

. Youngblood is an inductee of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Notable participants

Scoring summary

Statistics

References

Further reading