1972 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

Summary

The 1972 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the North Carolina Tar Heels of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season.[2] The team won its second consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship, going 6–0 in conference play, and played in the 1972 Sun Bowl, defeating Texas Tech by a score of 32–28. The Tar Heels ended the year ranked 12th in the AP Poll with an 11–1 record—the lone loss coming at Ohio State in their fourth game.[3] This was the first of only four seasons where North Carolina was able to win 11 games.

1972 North Carolina Tar Heels football
ACC champion
Sun Bowl, W 32–28 vs. Texas Tech
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 14
APNo. 12
Record11–1 (6–0 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBobby Collins (6th season)
CaptainGene Brown, Ron Rusnak
Home stadiumKenan Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1971
1973 →
1972 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 12 North Carolina $ 6 0 0 11 1 0
No. 17 NC State 4 1 1 8 3 1
Maryland 3 2 1 5 5 1
Duke 3 3 0 5 6 0
Clemson 2 4 0 4 7 0
Virginia 1 5 0 4 7 0
Wake Forest 1 5 0 2 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Schedule edit

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 91:30 p.m.Richmond*W 28–1831,500[4]
September 161:30 p.m.MarylandW 31–2628,000[5]
September 231:30 p.m.NC State
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)
W 34–3347,000[6]
September 301:30 p.m.at No. 5 Ohio State*L 14–2986,180[7]
October 141:30 p.m.Kentucky*
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
W 31–2042,500[8]
October 211:30 p.m.at Wake ForestW 21–027,000[9]
November 41:30 p.m.at ClemsonW 26–1038,235[10][11]
November 111:30 p.m.VirginiaNo. 18
W 23–336,500[12]
November 181:30 p.m.DukeNo. 16
W 14–047,000[13]
November 251:30 p.m.East Carolina*No. 15
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
W 42–1931,600[14]
December 92:00 p.m.vs. Florida*No. 16W 28–2433,103[15]
December 301:00 p.m.vs. Texas Tech*No. 16CBSW 32–2827,877[16]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Personnel edit

1972 North Carolina Tar Heels football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR Earle Bethea
RB Ike Oglesby
QB Nick Vidnovic Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DL Gene Brown
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K Ellis Alexander
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Game summaries edit

Ohio State edit

North Carolina Tar Heels at Ohio State Buckeyes
Period 1 2 34Total
North Carolina 7 0 0714
Ohio St 3 6 14629

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

  • Date: September 30, 1972
  • Game time: 1:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 49 °F (9 °C)
  • Game attendance: 86,180
  • Box Score
Game information

References edit

  1. ^ "1972 Atlantic Coast Conference Year Summary". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  2. ^ "1972 North Carolina Tar Heels". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
  3. ^ "1972 Final AP Football Poll".
  4. ^ "Tar Heels rush past Richmond, 28–18". The News and Observer. September 9, 1972. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "North Carolina barely beats underdog Maryland 31–26". The Danville Register. September 17, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Pack gamble fails, UNC victor, 34 to 33". Richmond Times-Dispatch. September 24, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Frosh find leads Beckeyes by N.C." The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 1, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "North Carolina staves off upset-minded Kentucky, 31–20". Rocky Mount Telegram. October 15, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "N. Carolina tops Wake Forest 21–0". Tallahassee Democrat. October 22, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Clemson Football Media Guide - 1973". Clemson University. 1973. p. 2. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  11. ^ "Tar Heels down Clemson". Rocky Mount Telegram. November 5, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Tar Heels stumble to ACC title, 23–3". The Gastonia Gazette. November 12, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "6 pass thefts carry UNC into Sun Bowl". Winston-Salem Journal & Sentinel. November 19, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Carolina runs through Pirates, 42–19". The News and Observer. November 26, 1972. Retrieved March 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "3 TDs by Johnson power N. Carolina". The Courier-Journal. December 10, 1972. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Tar Heels win on late score". The Baltimore Sun. December 31, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.