1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Big Eight co-champion Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 40–6 vs. Notre Dame
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 4
Record	9–2–1 (5–1–1 Big 8)
Head coach	Bob Devaney (11th season)
Offensive coordinator	Tom Osborne (4th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Monte Kiffin (4th season)
Base defense	5–2
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

1972 Big Eight Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Oklahoma $	6	–	1	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 4 Nebraska $	5	–	1	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
No. 16 Colorado	4	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Oklahoma State	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	4	–	1			5	–	6	–	1
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion The Big 8 Conference mandated Oklahoma forfeits in three conference games, giving Nebraska the title. Oklahoma reverted this record at a later date; hence, both Oklahoma and Nebraska claim this title. Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The team was coached by Bob Devaney, in his eleventh and final season with the Huskers, and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.

Nebraska, national champions in 1970 and 1971, entered the season top-ranked in the polls, with a 23-game winning streak and a 32-game unbeaten streak.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 9	10:05 pm	at UCLA*	No. 1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		L 17–20	67,702
September 16	1:30 pm	Texas A&M*	No. 10	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE		W 37–7	76,042
September 23	12:50 pm	at Army*	No. 9	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	ABC	W 77–7	42,239
September 30	1:30 pm	Minnesota*	No. 7	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)		W 49–0	76,217
October 14	1:30 pm	Missouri	No. 6	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)		W 62–0	76,511
October 21	1:30 pm	at Kansas	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS (rivalry)		W 56–0	50,523
October 28	1:30 pm	Oklahoma State	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE		W 34–0	76,432
November 4	1:20 pm	at No. 15 Colorado	No. 3	Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)	ABC	W 33–10	52,128
November 11	1:30 pm	at No. 17 Iowa State	No. 3	Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA		T 23–23	36,690
November 18	1:30 pm	Kansas State	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)		W 59–7	75,079
November 23	1:20 pm	No. 4 Oklahoma	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	ABC	L 14–17	76,587
January 1, 1973	7:00 pm	vs. No. 12 Notre Dame*	No. 9	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (Orange Bowl, rivalry)	NBC	W 40–6	80,010
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Roster

Alward, Tom #63 (So.) LG Anderson, Bill #97 (So.) MG Anderson, Dan #67 (Jr.) RG Anderson, Frosty #89 (Jr.) SE Austin, Al #78 (Jr.) RT Bahe, Ritch #24 (So.) WB Bell, John #66 (Jr.) MG Beran, Mike #62 (Sr.) RG Blahak, Joe #27 (Sr.) LCB Borg, Randy #19 (Jr.) RCB Branch, Jim #51 (Sr.) LB Butts, Randy #36 (Jr.) IB Carstens, Jim #47 (Sr.) FB Coleman, Ron #9 (So.) TE Costanzo, Rich #77 (So.) RT Crenshaw, Marvin #70 (So.) RT Damkroger, Maury #46 (Jr.) FB Davis, Tony #26 (So.) IB DeNell, Jake #6 (So.) RCB Dixon, Gary #22 (Sr.) IB Doak, Mark #71 (So.) LT Drinkwalter, Bob #92 (So.) RG Duda, Rich #50 (So.) C Dumler, Doug #54 (Sr.) C Dutton, John #90 (Jr.) DT Fischer, Pat #33 (Jr.) LCB Fuller, Bruce #5 (So.) LCB Garson, Glen #39 (Jr.) WB Glover, Rich #79 (Sr.) MG Goeller, Dave #28 (Jr.) IB Harper, Willie #81 (Sr.) DE Hegener, Stan #64 (So.) RG Henrichs, Dennis #75 (So.) LT		Heydorff, Mark #2 (Jr.) S Hill, Jeff #8 (So.) SE Humm, Dave #12 (So.) QB Humm, Tom #32 (So.) WB Hunter, Ken #78 (So.) MG Hyland, John #58 (Sr.) DE Janssen, Bill #55 (Sr.) DT Jenkins, Brad #87 (So.) SE Johnson, Ardell #29 (So.) RCB Johnson, Monte #37 (Sr.) DT Jones, Chuck #35 (So.) LCB Kinsel, John #53 (Sr.) C Knudsen, Tom #73 (Jr.) MG Kyros, George #18 (So.) S Lackovic, Tim #80 (So.) SE Leonardi, Chad #61 (So.) LG List, Jerry #85 (Sr.) TE Loewenstein, Ron #4 (So.) MON Longwell, Brent #86 (Jr.) TE Luck, Terry #11 (So.) QB Lynch, Dan #96 (So.) DT Manstedt, Steve #82 (Jr.) DE Mason, Dave #25 (Sr.) MON Mazon, Frank #31 (So.) RCB McGuire, Tim #93 (So.) LG McKinley, Kim #65 (So.) DT Meyer, Bob #98 (So.) DE Mills, George #69 (So.) DT Moran, Jeff #30 (So.) WB Mushinskie, Larry #88 (So.) TE Nelson, Bob #57 (So.) LB Norrie, Rod #94 (So.) DT O'Connell, John #34 (Jr.) S Offner, Mike #95 (So.) DE		O'Holleran, Mike #38 (So.) FB Olds, Bill #44 (Sr.) FB Osborne, Mike #99 (So.) DT Pate, Tom #68 (So.) DE Peterson, Matt #7 (So.) SE Pitts, John #56 (Sr.) LB Potter, Dana #10 (So.) QB Powell, Ralph #41 (Jr.) FB Redding, Dave #91 (So.) DE Revelle, Bob #84 (So.) SE Righetti, Phil #74 (Sr.) LT Rodgers, Johnny #20 (Sr.) WB Rogers, Terry #40 (So.) MON Runty, Steve #13 (Jr.) QB Rutan, Bob #15 (So.) QB Ruud, Tom #45 (So.) LB Sanger, Rich #43 (Jr.) P/PK Schmit, Bob #23 (Jr.) LB Seeton, Jim #16 (So.) S Sloey, Bill #42 (Sr.) LB Starkebaum, John #48 (So.) MON Stinner, John #3 (Jr.) LB Strong, Jon #49 (Jr.) LB Thornton, Bob #17 (Jr.) S Westbrook, Don #21 (So.) IB White, Daryl #72 (Jr.) LT Wieser, Steve #83 (So.) DE Wolfe, Bob #76 (Jr.) LG Yaralian, Zaven #1 (Jr.) RCB Young, Vic #52 (So.) C Zanrosso, Dennis #59 (Jr.) C

Depth chart

Defense
FS George Kyros Bob Thornton Jim Seeton		INSDIE INSDIE John Pitts Jim Branch Tom Ruud Bob Nelson Bob Schmit Bill Sloey					MONSTER BACK Dave Mason John Starkebuam Terry Rogers
CB Joe Blahak Chuck Jones Pat Fischer		DE DT NT DT DE Willie Harper Monte Johnson Rich Glover John Dutton Steve Manstedt Tom Pate Bill Janssen John Bell Rod Norrie John Hyland Dave Redding Kim McKinley Tom Knudsen George Mills. Steve Wieser						CB Randy Borg Zaven Yaralian Adrell Johnson
Offense
Wingback Johnny Rodgers Glen Garson Ritch Bahe		LT LG C RG RT Daryl White Bob Wolfe Dan Anderson Doug Dumler Mike Beran Marvin Crenshaw Mark Doak Tom Alward John Kinsel Dan Anderson Al Austin Dennis Henrichs Chad Leonardi Rich Duda Stan Hegener Rich Costanzo					TE Jerry List Brent Longwell Larry Mushinskie	Splitend Bob Revelle Frosty Anderson Jeff Hill
				QB Dave Humm Steve Runty Terry Luck
Key reserves		RB Gary Dixon Johnny Rodgers Dave Goeller Jeff Moran		FB Bill Olds Maury Damkroger Ralph Powell			Special teams

Coaching staff

Name	Title	First year in this position	Years at Nebraska	Alma mater
Bob Devaney	Head Coach	1962	1962-72	Alma
Tom Osborne	Offensive coordinator	1969	1964-97	Hastings
Cletus Fischer	Offensive Line	1960	1960-85	Nebraska
Carl Selmer	Offensive Line	1962	1962-72
Jim Ross			1962-76
John Melton	Tight Ends, Wingbacks	1973	1962-88	Wyoming
Mike Corgan	Running Backs	1962	1962-82	Notre Dame
Monte Kiffin	Defensive Coordinator	1969	1967-76	Nebraska
Warren Powers	Defensive Backs	1976	1969-76	Nebraska
Boyd Epley	Head Strength Coach	1969	1969–2003	Nebraska
Jim Walden		1971	1971-72	Wyoming
Bill Myles	Offensive Line	1972	1972-76

Game summaries

UCLA

#1 Nebraska at UCLA [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total #1 Nebraska 0 10 0 7 17 • UCLA 3 7 7 3 20 Date: 1972-09-09 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California Game attendance: 67,702

Unranked UCLA, sporting their new wishbone offense led by junior college transfer Mark Harmon, handed #1 Nebraska its first loss in 33 games, and broke Nebraska's 23-game winning streak, both at that time active NCAA records. The Cornhuskers were upset in Los Angeles after suffering four fumbles and giving up two interceptions, though the game was not decided until UCLA's Efren Herrera kicked a field goal to break the tie with just 22 seconds remaining. The upset loss dropped Nebraska from first to tenth in the AP Poll rankings.

Texas A&M

Texas A&M at #10 Nebraska [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total Texas A&M 0 0 0 7 7 • #10 Nebraska 14 7 7 9 37 Date: 1972-09-16 Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska Game start: 1:30 pm CST Game attendance: 76,042

Scoring summary 1 8:20 Nebraska Humm 1-yard run (Sanger kick) Nebraska 7-0 1 :13 Nebraska Humm 1-yard run (Sanger kick) Nebraska 14-0 2 4:12 Nebraska Damkrogger 1-yard run (Sanger kick) Nebraska 21-0 3 7:26 Nebraska List 9-yard pass from Humm (Sanger kick) Nebraska 28-0 4 14:34 Nebraska Sanger 54-yard field goal Nebraska 31-0 4 9:03 Nebraska Bahe 12-yard pass from Runty (kick failed) Nebraska 37-0 4 3:29 Texas A&M May 29-yard pass from Dean (McDermott kick) Nebraska 37-7

Due to a stadium expansion completed over the summer, Nebraska's home opener drew record attendance with slightly more than 76,000 spectators. Nebraska recovered from the loss to UCLA with a dominant 37–7 victory over Texas A&M, whose sole touchdown came late in the 4th quarter against Cornhusker reserves.

Army

#9 Nebraska at Army [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total • #9 Nebraska 14 21 28 14 77 Army 0 0 0 7 7 Date: 1972-09-23 Location: Michie Stadium, West Point, New York Game attendance: 42,239

Nebraska entirely stomped Army, with the Cornhusker reserves taking over in the 3rd quarter behind a very comfortable lead, and the Black Knights' lone score to prevent the shutout came on a 10-yard pass reception with just 35 seconds left to play.

Minnesota

Minnesota at #7 Nebraska [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 • #7 Nebraska 7 21 14 7 49 Date: 1972-09-30 Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska Game attendance: 76,217

For the third straight week, Nebraska dominated the game in every way, shutting out Minnesota while piling up 542 yards of offense.

Missouri

Missouri at #6 Nebraska [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total Missouri 0 0 0 0 0 • #6 Nebraska 7 14 27 14 62 Date: 1972-10-14 Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska Game attendance: 76,511

Nebraska was not affected by the week off, and thoroughly pounded Missouri 62-0. Although the scoreboard and statistics might suggest Missouri was out of their league against Nebraska, the Tigers went on after this painful shutout to upset Notre Dame and Colorado in their next two games.

Kansas

#5 Nebraska at Kansas [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total • #5 Nebraska 0 28 14 14 56 Kansas 0 0 0 0 0 Date: 1972-10-21 Location: Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, Kansas Game attendance: 50,500

The shutouts and domination continued, as Nebraska scored at will against Kansas in Lawrence (albeit with Cornhusker fans forming the majority of the sellout crowd of 50,500), and held the Jayhawks to just 63 total yards of offense and only four first downs.

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State at #3 Nebraska [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total Oklahoma State 0 0 0 0 0 • #3 Nebraska 13 0 7 14 34 Date: 1972-10-28 Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska Game attendance: 76,432

Nebraska tied a 1937 NCAA record of four straight shutouts, and although Oklahoma State was not as easy to push around as the previous three opponents, the Cornhuskers still had little trouble getting the win.

Colorado

#3 Nebraska at #15 Colorado [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total • #3 Nebraska 19 0 14 0 33 #15 Colorado 0 10 0 0 10 Date: 1972-11-04 Location: Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado Game attendance: 52,128

Colorado attempted to put some more challenge into the event than Nebraska had been seeing in recent games, and was even able to draw back from a 0-19 deficit to get within 9 by halftime and end Nebraska's shutout streak, but it was all Cornhusker points the rest of the way. Still, the Blackshirts mourned the end of their touchdown-free stretch at 17 quarters.

Iowa State

#3 Nebraska at #17 Iowa State [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total #3 Nebraska 7 6 0 10 23 #17 Iowa State 0 10 7 6 23 Date: 1972-11-11 Location: Clyde Williams Field, Ames, Iowa Game attendance: 36,231

Iowa State pretty much ended any Nebraska hopes for another national title, as the Cornhuskers gave up two interceptions and six fumbles to help the Cyclones stay in the game. Nebraska came back from behind to pull ahead 20-17 in the 4th, and padded the lead with a field goal when the clock was down to just 1:03, but Iowa State stormed back down the field to score again with 0:23 remaining, and would have won the game outright if the subsequent PAT had not failed and ended the game tied at 23.

Kansas State

Kansas State at #5 Nebraska [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total Kansas State 0 0 0 7 7 • #5 Nebraska 10 28 14 7 59 Date: 1972-11-18 Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska Game attendance: 75,079

Nebraska put up Coach Devaney's 100th career win as the Cornhuskers easily trampled Kansas State in Lincoln and had reserves in the game for playing time while cruising behind a comfortable 38-0 lead even prior to the half. The Wildcats finally put up a touchdown with just over 6 minutes remaining to play.

Oklahoma

#4 Oklahoma at #5 Nebraska [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total • #4 Oklahoma 0 0 7 10 17 #5 Nebraska 7 0 7 0 14 Date: 1972-11-23 Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska Game start: 1:30 pm CST Game attendance: 76,587

It looked like Nebraska's day on Thanksgiving in Devaney's final home game as head coach. They led at the half and were up 14–0 in the 3rd, but underdog Oklahoma scored seventeen unanswered points for the win; Nebraska's three-year home winning streak, which began in September 1969, ended at 23 games.

Notre Dame

#9 Nebraska vs #12 Notre Dame [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total #12 Notre Dame 0 0 0 6 6 • #9 Nebraska 7 13 20 0 40 Date: 1973-01-01 Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida Game attendance: 80,010

Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers was shifted from WB to IB for the 1973 Orange Bowl, and flashed brilliance as he ran for three touchdowns, caught a touchdown pass, and also threw a fifth touchdown. The Cornhuskers scored with ease and often against the stunned Fighting Irish, who were unable to put any points up of their own until the 4th quarter. This was head coach Bob Devaney's final game, a third straight Orange Bowl victory, and second straight Orange Bowl rout.

Rankings

See also: 1972 NCAA University Division football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
AP	1	10	9	7	6	6	5	3	3	3	5	5	8	9	4
Coaches	1	9	8	7	5	5	4	4	3	2	5	5	8	9	9

Awards

Award	Name(s)
Heisman Trophy	Johnny Rodgers
Walter Camp Award	Johnny Rodgers
Outland Trophy	Rich Glover
Lombardi Award	Rich Glover
All-America 1st team	Rich Glover, Willie Harper, Johnny Rodgers, Daryl White
All-America 2nd team	Joe Blahak
Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year	Rich Glover
Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year	Daryl White
All-Big Eight 1st team	Joe Blahak, Rich Glover, Willie Harper, Johnny Rodgers, Daryl White
All-Big Eight 2nd team	Jim Branch, Doug Dumler, Dave Humm, Bill Janssen, Steve Manstedt, Dave Mason, Bob Wolfe

1972 team Players in the NFL

The 1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers seniors selected in the 1973 NFL draft:

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Johnny Rodgers	WR	1	25	San Diego Chargers
Willie Harper	LB	2	41	San Francisco 49ers
Monte Johnson	LB	2	49	Oakland Raiders
Bill Olds	RB	3	61	Baltimore Colts
Rich Glover	DT	3	69	New York Giants
Doug Dumler	C	5	108	New England Patriots
Joe Blahak	DB	8	183	Houston Oilers
Bill Janssen	T	8	206	Pittsburgh Steelers
Dave Mason	DB	10	246	Minnesota Vikings
Jerry List	TE	11	283	Oakland Raiders

The 1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers juniors selected in the following year's 1974 NFL draft:

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
John Dutton	DE	1	5	Baltimore Colts
Steve Manstedt	LB	4	79	Houston Oilers
Daryl White	G	4	98	Cincinnati Bengals
Bob Wolfe	T	6	156	Miami Dolphins
Maury Damkroger	LB	7	178	New England Patriots
Frosty Anderson	WR	10	235	New Orleans Saints

The 1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers sophomores selected in the 1975 NFL draft:

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Tom Ruud	LB	1	19	Buffalo Bills
Bob Nelson	LB	2	42	Buffalo Bills
John Starkebaum	DB	4	92	New Orleans Saints
David Humm	QB	5	128	Oakland Raiders
Don Westbrook	WR	6	131	Baltimore Colts
Mark Doak	T	6	147	Washington Redskins
Ardell Johnson	DB	11	277	Washington Redskins
Ritch Bahe	WR	14	358	St. Louis Cardinals
Dennis Pavelka	G	16	412	Washington Redskins
Stan Hegener	G	17	442	Pittsburgh Steelers

NFL and pro players

The following is a list of 1972 Nebraska players
who joined a professional team as draftees or free agents.

Name	Team
Tom Alward	Birmingham Vulcans
Joe Blahak	Houston Oilers
Tony Davis	Cincinnati Bengals
Gary Dixon	Southern California Sun
Mark Doak	Birmingham Vulcans
Maury Damkroger	New England Patriots
Doug Dumler	New England Patriots
John Dutton	Baltimore Colts
Rich Glover	New York Giants
Willie Harper	San Francisco 49ers
Dave Humm	Oakland Raiders
Bill Janssen	Charlotte Hornets
Monte Johnson	Oakland Raiders
Brent Longwell	Memphis Southmen
Terry Luck	Cleveland Browns
Steve Manstedt	Birmingham Americans
Dave Mason	New England Patriots
Bob Nelson	Buffalo Bills
Bill Olds	Baltimore Colts
Tom Pate	Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Johnny Rodgers	Montreal Alouettes
Tom Ruud	Buffalo Bills
Bob Schmit	Portland Storm
Don Westbrook	New England Patriots
Daryl White	Detroit Lions
Bob Wolfe	Birmingham Americans
Zaven Yaralian	Philadelphia Bell