1972 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

The 1972 Arizona State Sun Devils football team represented Arizona State University in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season.

1972 Arizona State Sun Devils football
WAC champion Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 49–35 vs. Missouri
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 13
AP	No. 13
Record	10–2 (5–1 WAC)
Head coach	Frank Kush (15th season)
Defensive coordinator	Larry Kentera (2nd season)
Home stadium	Sun Devil Stadium
Seasons ← 1971 1973 →

1972 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 13 Arizona State $	5	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
BYU	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Utah	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Arizona	4	–	3	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Wyoming	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
New Mexico	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Colorado State	1	–	4	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
UTEP	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	at Houston*	No. 13	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX	W 33–28	24,628	[1]
September 23	Kansas State*	No. 10	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	W 56–14	50,682	[2]
September 30	at Wyoming	No. 11	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	L 43–45	19,298	[3]
October 7	Oregon State*		Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	W 38–7	50,879	[4]
October 14	Utah		Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	W 59–48	49,168	[5]
October 21	at BYU	No. 19	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	W 49–17	23,561	[6]
October 28	Air Force*	No. 16	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	L 31–39	47,091	[7]
November 4	at UTEP		Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	W 55–14	7,414	[8]
November 11	New Mexico	No. 19	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	W 60–7	44,172	[9]
November 18	San Jose State*	No. 18	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	W 51–21	43,912	[10]
November 25	at Arizona	No. 18	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ (rivalry)	W 38–21	38,500	[11]
December 23	vs. Missouri*	No. 15	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	W 49–35	51,318	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[13]

Depth chart

Captains: Larry Delbridge, Steve Matlock

Offense

POS	Name
QB	Danny White
HB	Woody Green
FB	Brent McClanahan
SE	Ed Beverly
WB	Steve Holden
TE	Joe Petty
LT	Steve Gunther
LG	John Houser
C	Ron Lou
RG	Steve Matlock
RT	Ed Kindig

Defense

POS	Name
LDE	Larry Shorty
LDT	Deke Ballard
MG	Tim Hoban
RDT	Neal Skarin
LLB	Bob Breunig
RLB	Larry Delbridge
LCB	Reedy Hall
RCB	Prentice McCray
WS	Wayne Bradley
SS	Ron Lumpkin
K	Juan Cruz

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Coaching staff

Head coach: Frank Kush

Assistants: Don Baker (offensive backfield), Larry Kentera (DE/LB), Jerry Thompson (DL), Al Luginbill (DB), Joe McDonald (WR), Al Tanara (OL), Bill Kajikawa (freshman) ^[14]

Game summaries

Houston

1 2 3 4 Total • Arizona St 20 10 0 3 33 Houston 14 0 0 14 28 Date: September 16 Location: Robertson Stadium, Houston, Texas

Scoring summary 1 Arizona St Holden 55-yard pass from White (Cruz kick) Arizona St 7-0 1 Arizona St Holden 52-yard pass from White (kick failed) Arizona St 13-0 1 Arizona St Green 9-yard run (Cruz kick) Arizona St 20-0 1 Houston Nobles 1-yard run (Terrell kick) Arizona St 20-7 1 Houston Evans 20-yard interception return (Terrell kick) Arizona St 20-14 2 Arizona St McClanahan 2-yard run (Cruz kick) Arizona St 27-14 2 Arizona St Cruz 44-yard field goal Arizona St 30-14 4 Houston Watts 17-yard pass from Nobles (Terrell kick) Arizona St 30-21 4 Arizona St Cruz 38-yard field goal Arizona St 33-21 4 Houston Johnson 46-yard pass from Nobles (Terrell kick) Arizona St 33-28

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Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
AP	12	13	10	11	—	—	19	16	—	19	18	18	15	13

1972 team players in the NFL

The following players were claimed in the 1973 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Steve Holden	Wide receiver	1	16	Cleveland Browns
Brent McClanahan	Running back	5	118	Minnesota Vikings
Ed Beverly	Wide receiver	5	122	San Francisco 49ers
Prentice McCray	Defensive back	8	200	Detroit Lions
Ron Lou	Center	14	339	Houston Oilers
Ron Lumpkin	Defensive back	12	303	New York Giants

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References

1. "Sun Devils nip Cougars by 33–28". San Antonio Express-News. September 17, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "A-State smothers Kansas State, 56–14". The Arizona Republic. September 24, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Cowboys nip Sun Devils". The Sacramento Bee. October 1, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Sun Devils roll past OSU 38–7". Tacoma News Tribune. October 8, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Furious Utah rally fails as Devils nab 59–48 win". The Salt Lake Tribune. October 15, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Slow-starting Devils drub BYU, 49–17". The Arizona Republic. October 15, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Falcons upset Arizona State". The Tulsa World. October 29, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Arizona State hopes flicker". Rapid City Journal. November 5, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Sun Devils overwhelm New Mexico". The Arizona Daily Star. November 12, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Arizona State blasts San Jose". The Spokesman-Review. November 19, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Arizona St. wins Fiesta Bowl trip". Lincoln Journal Star. November 26, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Arizona State, Green too much for Tigers". The Kansas City Star. December 24, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "1972 NCAA Football Statistics (Arizona State)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
14. 2010 Arizona State football media guide
15. Palm Beach Post. 1972 September 17
16. "1973 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.