The 1972 BYU Cougars football team represented

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

(BYU) for the

1972 NCAA University Division football season The 1972 NCAA University Division football season saw the USC Trojans, coached by John McKay, go undefeated and win the national championship as the unanimous choice of the 50 AP panelists. Eighth-ranked in the preseason, the Trojans were narro ...

. It was their first year under head coach

LaVell Edwards Reuben LaVell Edwards (October 11, 1930 – December 29, 2016) was an American college football head coach for Brigham Young University (BYU). With 257 career victories, he ranks as one of the most successful college football coaches of all tim ...

and the Cougars finished over .500 for the first time since 1969.

Schedule

Preseason

Defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

was promoted to

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

in January to take over for the departed Tommy Hudspeth, who ended up as the head coach at

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the University of Texas Syste ...

by season's end. BYU was returning 28 players from the previous year but

Golden Richards John Golden Richards (December 31, 1950 – February 23, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. He played college football for t ...

would not be one of them. Richards claimed it was because the Cougars were still a run-oriented offense while BYU and Edwards said it was because Richards had trouble keeping with his academics.

Game summaries

Kansas State

Pete Van Valkenburg rushed for 164 yards on 16 carries, scored on a 59-yard run in the first quarter and set up Dave Terry for BYU's second touchdown. Keith Brumley's 37-yard field goal was Kansas State's only points through the first three quarters.

Henry Childs Henry Childs (April 16, 1951 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a ...

caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Dennis Morrison three minutes into the final quarter for Kansas State.

Utah State

At Oregon State

At Long Beach State

UTEP

Arizona State

At Colorado State

Wyoming

At Arizona

At Utah

BYU's first win versus Utah since

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

At New Mexico

Personnel

Roster

Starters

Offense

Defense

Broyles, Bob and Paul Guido. ''50 Years of College Football: A Modern History of America's Most Colorful Sport''.

Statistics

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Awards

All-WAC: Dave Atkinson, Dan Hansen, Paul Howard, Paul Linford, Ron Tree, Pete Van Valkenburg WAC Coach of the Year: LaVell Edwards The Deseret News. 20 November 2010
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References

{{BYU Cougars football navbox BYU BYU Cougars football seasons

BYU Cougars football The BYU Cougars football team is the college football program representing Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. The Cougars began collegiate football competition in 1922, and have won 23 conference championships and one College football ...