1972 Tennessee State Tigers football team

The 1972 Tennessee State Tigers football team represented Tennessee State University as an independent during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. In their tenth season under head coach John Merritt, the Tigers compiled an 11–1 record, defeated Drake in the Pioneer Bowl (the Midwest region final of the NCAA College Division), and outscored all opponents by a total of 431 to 107.^[1]

1972 Tennessee State Tigers football
Pioneer Bowl, W 29–7 vs. Drake
Conference	Independent
Record	11–1
Head coach	John Merritt (10th season)
Home stadium	Hale Stadium
Seasons ← 1971 1973 →

1972 NCAA College Division independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Ashland			–					11	–	0	–	0
Bridgeport			–					11	–	0	–	0
No. 1 Delaware			–					10	–	0	–	0
No. 5 Tennessee State			–					11	–	1	–	0
Colorado College			–					8	–	1	–	0
Tampa			–					10	–	2	–	0
Trinity (TX)			–					8	–	2	–	0
Western Carolina			–					7	–	2	–	1
Hawaii			–					8	–	3	–	0
Indiana State			–					7	–	3	–	0
Northeastern			–					6	–	2	–	0
Bucknell			–					6	–	3	–	0
Cortland			–					6	–	3	–	0
San Diego			–					6	–	3	–	1
Arkansas–Pine Bluff			–					4	–	2	–	1
Eastern Michigan			–					6	–	4	–	0
Milwaukee			–					6	–	4	–	0
Samford			–					5	–	3	–	2
Lake Forest			–					4	–	3	–	1
Nevada			–					6	–	5	–	0
Central Michigan			–					5	–	5	–	1
Rose-Hulman			–					5	–	5	–	0
Santa Clara			–					4	–	4	–	1
Akron			–					3	–	4	–	2
St. Norbert			–					4	–	5	–	0
Saint Mary's			–					3	–	4	–	0
Kentucky State			–					4	–	6	–	0
Drexel			–					3	–	6	–	0
Northeast Louisiana			–					3	–	7	–	0
Portland State			–					3	–	8	–	0
Wayne State (MI)			–					2	–	5	–	1
Boston University			–					2	–	8	–	0
Northern Michigan			–					2	–	8	–	0
Saint Peter's			–					2	–	8	–	0
Chattanooga			–					2	–	9	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					1	–	8	–	1
Eastern Illinois			–					1	–	9	–	0
Madison			–					0	–	4	–	1
UNLV			–					1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP small college poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9		vs. Norfolk State		Memphis Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	W 56–6	9,208	[2]
September 15		vs. Morgan State		Atlanta Stadium Atlanta, GA (Atlanta Gridiron Festival)	W 14–0	10,093	[3]
September 23		vs. Alcorn A&M	No. 4	Soldier Field Chicago, IL (Urban League Classic)	W 40–13	34,208–48,000	[4][5]
September 30		Texas Southern	No. 2	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 38–15	14,224–16,000	[6][7]
October 7		at Grambling	No. 3	Grambling Stadium Grambling, LA	L 18–27	9,620–12,035	[8]
October 14		Virginia State	No. 9	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 49–0	9,000	[9]
October 21		Florida A&M	No. 8	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 44–25	16,500	[10]
October 28		Southern	No. 4	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 35–0	9,200–11,023	[11][12]
November 4		Morris Brown	No. 4	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 24–14	15,000	[13]
November 11		at Central State (OH)	No. 4	McPherson Stadium Wilberforce, OH	W 41–0	8,000	[14]
November 23		at Alabama State	No. 5	Cramton Bowl Montgomery, AL	W 43–0	15,000	[15]
December 9	1:00 p.m.	vs. Drake	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, TX (Pioneer Bowl)	W 29–7	9,200	[16]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[17]

References

1. "Tennessee State Yearly Results (1970-1974)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
2. "Pettiford directs a Big Blue romp". The Commercial Appeal. September 10, 1972. Retrieved March 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Hudspeth, Ron (September 16, 1972). "The Black Colleges: Soul And the Pro Scout". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. p. 8A. Retrieved December 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
4. "Tenn. State passes take toll of Alcorn". Chicago Tribune. September 24, 1972. Retrieved August 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Final 1972 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Alcorn A&M)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
6. "Revenge sweet for TSU". The Tennessean. October 1, 1972. Retrieved June 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Final 1972 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Texas Southern)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
8. "Grambling's Defense Leaves Tenn. Staters Black and Blue". The Shreveport Times. October 8, 1972. p. 4D – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Tennessee State routs Va. State". Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 15, 1972. Retrieved March 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Rattlers bow again by 44–25". The Tampa Tribune-Times. October 22, 1972. Retrieved March 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Big Blue dominates Southern University". The Commercial Appeal. October 29, 1972. Retrieved August 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Final 1972 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Southern)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
13. "Morris Brown loses another". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. November 5, 1972. Retrieved March 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Marauders blankes by Tenn. State". Dayton Daily News. November 12, 1972. Retrieved March 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Alabama St. bombed, 43–0". Birmingham Post-Herald. November 24, 1972. Retrieved March 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Tennessee St. plugs Bulldogs". Wichita Falls Times. December 10, 1972. Retrieved September 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Final 1972 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 16, 2023.