1972 Washington Huskies football team

1972 Washington Huskies football
Conference	Pacific-8
1972 record	8–3 (4–3 Pac-8)
Head coach	Jim Owens (16th season)
MVP	Calvin Jones (DB)
Captain	Bill Cahill (DB)
Captain	Sonny Sixkiller (QB) (2nd year)
Home stadium	Husky Stadium
Seasons

1972 Pacific-8 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#1 USC †	7	–	0	–	0			12	–	0	–	0
#15 UCLA	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
#19 Washington State	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Washington	4	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
California	3	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Oregon	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Stanford	2	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Oregon State	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
† – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 Washington Huskies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Washington during the 1972 college 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.

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, but Sixkiller suffered ankle and knee injuries early in the Stanford game in mid-October. Quarterbacks Greg Collins, Dennis Fitzpatrick, and Mark Backman then led the offense, with losses at Stanford and #1 USC, followed by consecutive wins over California and Oregon State.

Sixkiller returned to the lineup for senior day at Husky Stadium on November 11 and Washington beat #8 UCLA, but dropped the Apple Cup to #20 Washington State at Spokane. The Pac-8 did not allow a second bowl team until the 1975 season.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 9	Pacific (CA)*	No. 9	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 13–6	57,500
September 16	Duke*	No. 12	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 14–6	59,200
September 23	at Purdue*	No. 15	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 22–21	60,102
September 30	Illinois*	No. 14	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 31–11	60,200
October 7	Oregon	No. 11	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 23–17	61,000
October 14	at No. 17 Stanford	No. 12	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	L 0–24	56,000
October 21	at No. 1 USC	No. 18	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 7–34	59,151
October 28	California		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 35–21	56,300
November 4	at Oregon State		Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	W 23–16	31,923
November 11	No. 8 UCLA		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 30–21	59,000
November 18	at No. 20 Washington State	No. 17	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA (Apple Cup)	L 10–27	34,100
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1972 Washington Huskies football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 6 Sixkiller, SonnySonny Sixkiller (C) 7.0 !Sr QB 10 Backman, MarkMark Backman QB 14 Fitzpatrick, DennisDennis Fitzpatrick 3.0 !So QB 15 Collins, GregGreg Collins WR 26 Scott, TomTom Scott 7.0 !Sr C 56 Kelso, AlAl Kelso 7.0 !Sr TE 87 Brady, JohnJohn Brady 7.0 !Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB, PK 16 Wiezbowski, SteveSteve Wiezbowski DB 18 Cahill, BillBill Cahill (C) 7.0 !Sr DB 20 Jones, CalvinCalvin Jones 7.0 !Sr DT 80 Pear, DaveDave Pear 3.0 !So DE 99 Matter, KurtKurt Matter 7.0 !Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 3 Boyd, SkipSkip Boyd 3.0 !So PK 16 Wiezbowski, SteveSteve Wiezbowski	Head coach Jim Owens (16th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source:

NFL Draft

Six Huskies were selected in the 1973 NFL Draft, which lasted seventeen rounds (442 selections).

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
John Brady	Tight end	3rd	58	Detroit Lions
Bill Cahill	Defensive back	7th	158	New Orleans Saints
Tom Scott	Wide receiver	12th	304	Detroit Lions
Al Kelso	Center	13th	330	San Diego Chargers
Calvin Jones	Defensive back	15th	373	Denver Broncos
Kurt Matter	Defensive end	15th	390	Los Angeles Rams