Coaches No. 4 1972 record 10–2 (7–1 SEC) | AP No. 7 Captain Terry Davis | |
Conference Southeastern Conference Head coach Bear Bryant (15th year) | ||
The 1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1972 college football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 78th overall season and 39th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Bear Bryant, in his 15th year, and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with ten wins and two losses (10–2 overall, 7–1 in the SEC), as SEC champions and with a loss to Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
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Alabama opened the season with a non-conference victory over Duke. They then shut out Kentucky in their conference opener, and then easily won their next three games, over Vanderbilt, Georgia and Florida. In a top-ten match-up against rival Tennessee, they scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns en route to a 17–10 victory. Next, the Crimson Tide defeated Southern Miss and Mississippi State to set up a top-ten match-up against LSU.
With a 35–21 victory over the Tigers, Alabama captured the SEC championship for the 1972 season. The Crimson Tide next defeated Virginia Tech on homecoming and set up another top ten match-up Iron Bowl to close the regular season. Auburn defeated Alabama behind a pair of fourth-quarter blocked-punt returns in a game referred to as simply "Punt Bama Punt". The Crimson Tide then closed their season with a second-consecutive defeat, this time against Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
Schedule
NFL Draft
Several players that were varsity lettermen from the 1972 squad were drafted into the National Football League (NFL) in the 1973, 1974 and 1975 drafts. These players included:
Freshman squad
Prior to the 1972 college football season, NCAA rules prohibited freshmen from participating on the varsity team, and as such many schools fielded freshmen teams. The Alabama freshmen squad was led by coach Clem Gryska for the 1972 season and finished with a record of four wins and one loss (4–1). The Baby Tide opened the season with a 14–7 loss to Georgia Tech before 7,000 fans at Grant Field. Ray Bolden scored Alabama's only points with his two-yard touchdown run and the offense had six turnovers in the loss. Although they had eight fumbles in their game at Vanderbilt, the Baby Tide won the game 21–13. After Vandy took a 7–0 lead on a six-yard Larry Polston touchdown run in the first, Alabama responded three minutes later and tied the game when Alan Pizzitola returned an interception 25-yards for a score. The Commodores retook a 13–7 lead early in the second quarter after Ed Oaks threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Matt Gossage and retained their lead through halftime. The Baby Tide then closed the game with a pair of third quarter touchdown runs for the 21–13 victory. The first came on a six-yard Joey Bolton run and the second on a five-yard Willy Shelby run.
In their first home game of the season, Alabama defeated Tennessee 34–21 at Denny Stadium. With just over four minutes left in the game and the score tied 21–21, the Baby Tide scores a pair of late touchdowns after Tennessee turnovers for a 34–21 victory. Both touchdowns were scored by, Richard Todd first from 35-yards and the second from two-yards out. Against Tulane, Alabama rallied from a 10-point deficit with just under six minutes left in the game for a 21–20 victory at Denny Stadium. Alabama took a 7–0 lead on the third play of the game when Willy Shelby scored on an 82-yard touchdown run. However, The Green Wave responded with a pair of touchdowns on a one-yard Gary Rudick run and a 67-yard Wyatt Washington punt return that made the score 14–7 in their favor at the end of the first quarter. A 39-yard Mike Davis field goal cut the Tulane lead to 14–10 at halftime. After a one-yard Wally Harris touchdown run early in the fourth extended the Green Wave lead to 20–10, Alabama closed the game with a 29-yard Davis field goal and an 11-yard Mike Stock touchdown run for the 21–20 victory.
In their final game at Auburn, the Baby Tide for the third consecutive game came from behind and defeated the Tigers 17–14. After a scoreless first, a 24-yard Mike Davis field goal gave Alabama a 3–0 lead in the second quarter. However, Auburn took a 7 halftime lead after Mitzie Jackson scored on a short run in the final second of the first half. The Tigers then extended their lead to 14–3 early in the third quarter when Jack Verucchi scored on a 40-yard touchdown run that capped their opening drive of the second half. Alabama then closed the game with touchdowns on a short Richard Todd run in the third and on a Stock run in the fourth. This game also marked the final played by a freshmen team at Alabama as the NCAA changed their rules and allowed freshmen to compete with the varsity squad starting in 1973.