1972 Texas Longhorns football team

The 1972 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The Longhorns finished the regular season with a 9–1 record and defeated Alabama in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

1972 Texas Longhorns football
SWC champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 17–13 vs. Alabama
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 3
Record	10–1 (7–0 SWC)
Head coach	Darrell Royal (16th season)
Offensive coordinator	Fred Akers
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Defensive coordinator	Mike Campbell
Base defense	4–4
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1971 1973 →

1972 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Texas $	7	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
Texas Tech	4	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
SMU	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Arkansas	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Rice	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
Baylor	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
TCU	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Texas A&M	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 23	7:30 p.m.	Miami (FL)*	No. 14	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX		W 23–10	62,000	[1]
September 30	7:30 p.m.	at Texas Tech	No. 12	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX (rivalry)		W 25–20	52,187	[2]
October 7	7:30 p.m.	Utah State*	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX		W 27–12	58,122	[3]
October 14	2:50 p.m.	vs. No. 2 Oklahoma*	No. 10	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (rivalry)	ABC	L 0–27	72,030	[4]
October 21		No. 17 Arkansas	No. 14	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)	ABC	W 35–15	80,844	[5]
October 28	7:30 p.m.	at Rice	No. 10	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)		W 45–9	65,000	[6]
November 4	2:00 p.m.	SMU	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX		W 17–9	72,500	[7]
November 11	2:00 p.m.	at Baylor	No. 9	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX (rivalry)		W 17–3	48,394	[8]
November 18	2:00 p.m.	at TCU	No. 7	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX (rivalry)		W 27–0	33,536	[9]
November 23	8:05 p.m.	Texas A&M	No. 7	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)	ABC	W 38–3	68,000	[10]
January 1, 1973	1:00 p.m.	vs. No. 4 Alabama*	No. 7	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	CBS	W 17–13	72,032	[11]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

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Rankings

Main article: 1972 NCAA University Division football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
AP	14	15	14	12	9	10	14 т	10	9	9	7	7	6	7	3
Coaches	15	13	15	14	10	11	—	11	9	9	6	6	5	5	Not released

Roster

1972 Texas Longhorns football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB Marty Akins RB Tommy Landry FB Roosevelt Leaks QB Alan Lowry OL Jerry Sisemore WR Julius Whittier	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB Tommy Keel	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Darrell Royal Coordinators/assistant coaches Fred Akers Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt