American college football season
| Field | Value |
|---|
| year | 1972 |
| team | Penn State Nittany Lions |
| sport | football |
| conference | Independent |
| CoachRank | 8 |
| APRank | 10 |
| record | 10–2 |
| head_coach | Joe Paterno |
| hc_year | 7th |
| off_scheme | I formation |
| def_coach | Jim O'Hora |
| dc_year | 7th |
| def_scheme | [4–3](4-3-defense) |
| captain | Gregg Ducatte |
| captain2 | Jim Heller |
| captain3 | John Hufnagel |
| captain4 | Carl Schaukowitch |
| stadium | Beaver Stadium |
| champion | Eastern champion |
| bowl | [Sugar Bowl](1972-sugar-bowl-december) |
| bowl_result | L 0–14 vs. [Oklahoma](1972-oklahoma-sooners-football-team) |
The 1972 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 10–2 and lost to Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. Penn State was the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy as the best college football team in the Eastern United States. The team played home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
As a result of using ineligible players, the Oklahoma Sooners were ordered to forfeit seven wins from their 1972 season, including their win over the Nittany Lions in the Sugar Bowl. However, Paterno and Penn State refused to accept the forfeit, and the bowl game is officially recorded as a loss.
Schedule
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| w/l = l
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|{{CFB schedule entry
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|{{CFB schedule entry
| w/l = w
|{{CFB schedule entry
| w/l = w
|{{CFB schedule entry
| w/l = w
|{{CFB schedule entry
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|{{CFB schedule entry
| w/l = l
Roster
- Booker Brooks
- John Chuckran
- Jim O'Hora
- Frank Patrick
- Bob Phillips
- Jerry Sandusky
- Jim Weaver
- George Welsh
- J. T. White
Awards
## NFL draft
Five Nittany Lions were drafted in the [1973 NFL draft](1973-nfl-draft).
::data[format=table]
| Round | Pick | Overall | Name | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | 19 | 71 | Jim Laslavic | Linebacker | Detroit Lions |
| 5th | 12 | 116 | Bruce Bannon | Linebacker | New York Jets |
| 6th | 6 | 136 | John Skorupan | Linebacker | Buffalo Bills |
| 14th | 10 | 348 | John Hufnagel | Quarterback | Denver Broncos |
| 15th | 17 | 381 | Carl Schaukowitch | Offensive guard | New York Giants |
::
## References
## References
1. Brant, Tim. (January 11, 2008). ["After Further Review... The NCAA Weighs-In"](http://www.wjla.com/blogs/sports/after_further_review..._the_ncaa_weighs-in_on_bowden_and_paterno.html). *[[WJLA-TV*.
2. (September 17, 1972). ["Undefeated season ends early for State"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101341175/undefeated-season-ends-early-for-state/). *The Philadelphia Inquirer*.
3. (September 24, 1972). ["Penn State rally beats Navy, 21–10"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-houston-post-penn-state-rally-beats/181873327/). *The Houston Post*.
4. (October 1, 1972). ["Penn State gets by Iowa"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wichita-eagle-penn-state-gets-by-iow/181878858/). *The Wichita Eagle & Beacon*.
5. (October 8, 1972). ["Penn State bursts to top Illini 35–17"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/jacksonville-journal-courier-penn-state/181878976/). *Jacksonville Journal Courier*.
6. (October 15, 1972). ["Hufnagel gears Penn St. attack, routs Army, 45–0"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-hufnagel-gears-penn-st/181876096/). *The Miami Herald*.
7. (October 22, 1972). ["Penn State tops Syracuse, 17–0"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-union-penn-state-tops-syr/181875604/). *The Sacramento Union*.
8. (October 29, 1972). ["Penn St. rallies to nip WVa."](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee-penn-st-rallies-to-n/139505344/). *The Sacramento Bee*.
9. (November 5, 1972). ["Penn St. rips Terps, 46–16"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-and-observer-penn-st-rips-terp/139538496/). *The News and Observer*.
10. (November 12, 1972). ["Penn State mauls N.C. State"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsburgh-press-penn-state-mauls-n/139507258/). *The Pittsburgh Press*.
11. <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->. (November 12, 1972). ["Penn State Halts Wolfpack"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-asheville-times/139595960/). *[[Asheville Citizen-Times]]*.
12. (November 19, 1972). ["Penn State survives Boston College scare"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-and-observer-penn-state-survive/181874544/). *The News and Observer*.
13. (November 26, 1972). ["Penn State manhandles Pitt, 49–27"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsburgh-press-penn-state-manhandl/181870830/). *The Pittsburgh Press*.
14. (January 1, 1973). ["Sooners 'Tinker' with Penn State Lions 14–0"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-sooners-tinker-with-pe/181878729/). *Chicago Tribune*.
15. <!--Not stated-->. ["Schedule/Results (1972 Penn State)"](https://stats.ncaa.org/teams/251691). *[[National Collegiate Athletic Association]]*.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"]
This article was imported from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Penn_State_Nittany_Lions_football_team) and is available under the [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the [article history page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Penn_State_Nittany_Lions_football_team?action=history).
::