1972 Stanford Cardinals football team

1972 Stanford Cardinals football
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Record	6–5 (4–4 Pac-8)
Head coach	Jack Christiansen (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Robert A. Jones (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Norb Hecker (1st season)
Home stadium	Stanford Stadium
Seasons ←  1971 1973  →

1972 Pacific-8 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 USC $	7	–	0	–	0			12	–	0	–	0
No. 15 UCLA	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
No. 19 Washington State	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Washington	4	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
California	3	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Oregon	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Stanford	2	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Oregon State	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 Stanford Cardinals football team represented Stanford University in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Following the departure of head coach John Ralston for the Denver Broncos in early January, ^{[1] [2] [3]} defensive backs coach Jack Christiansen was promoted to head coach. ^{[4] [5] [6]} Stanford finished at 6–5, but were 2–5 in Pacific-8 Conference play, tied for sixth.

The school changed its nickname from "Indians" to "Cardinals" in March after objections from Native American students and a vote by the student senate. ^{[7] [8] [9] [10]}

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	1:30 p.m.	San Jose State *		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	W 44–0	48,500
September 23		at Duke *	No. 19	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	W 10–6	24,600	[11]
September 30	1:30 p.m.	No. 20 West Virginia *	No. 19	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	W 41–35	56,000	[12]
October 7	1:30 p.m.	No. 1 USC	No. 15	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	L 21–30	84,000
October 14	1:30 p.m.	No. 12 Washington	No. 17	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	W 24–0	56,000
October 21	1:30 p.m.	at Oregon	No. 13	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	L 13–15	27,500	[13] [14] [15]
October 28	1:30 p.m.	Oregon State		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	W 17–11	44,000
November 4	1:32 p.m.	at No. 8 UCLA		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 23–28	47,276
November 11	1:30 p.m.	at Washington State	No. 20	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	L 13–27	20,500
November 18	1:33 p.m.	at California		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (Big Game)	L 21–24	68,000
December 2		at Hawaii *		Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	W 39–7	18,397
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

^[16]

Game summaries

Washington

See also: 1972 Washington Huskies football team

Washington Huskies at Stanford Cardinals

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	0	0	0	0	0
Cardinals	7	14	3	0	24

at Stanford Stadium • Stanford, California

• Date: October 14, 1972
• Game attendance: 56,000

Game information
First quarter STAN – Cross 23 yard pass from Boryla (Garcia kick). Stanford 7–0. Drive: Second quarter STAN – Alvarado 30 yard pass from Boryla (Garcia kick). Stanford 14-0. Drive: STAN – M. Moore 13 yard pass from Murray (Garcia kick). Stanford 21-0. Drive: Third quarter STAN – Garcia 32 yard field goal. Stanford 24-0. Drive: Fourth quarter No scoring plays.

^{[17] [18]}

California

See also: 1972 California Golden Bears football team

Stanford Cardinals at California Golden Bears

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	7	7	0	7	21
Golden Bears	0	3	8	13	24

at Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, California

• Date: November 18, 1972
• Game attendance: 68,000
• Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Nov 19.

Game information

First quarter STAN – Eric Cross 24-yard pass from Mike Boryla (Steve Murray kick). Stanford 7–0. Drive: Second quarter CAL – Ray Wersching 29-yard field goal. Stanford 7–3. Drive: STAN – Gordon Riegel 71-yard interception return (Steve Murray kick). Stanford 14–3. Third quarter CAL – Syl Youngblood 4-yard run (pass good). Stanford 14–11. Drive: Fourth quarter CAL – Syl Youngblood 6-yard run (Ray Wersching kick). Cal 18–14. Drive: STAN – Reggie Sanderson 3-yard run (Rod Garcia kick), 3:42. Stanford 21–18. Drive: CAL – Steve Sweeney 7-yard pass from Vince Ferragamo, 0:00. Cal 24–21. Drive: 64 yards. Top rushers CAL – Steve Kemnitzer – 15 rushes, 60 yards

Roster

1972 Stanford Cardinal football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR Don Alvarado OL Mike Askea QB Mike Boryla RB Scott Boughton OL Chuck Cordes WR Eric Cross OL Lee Fair WR Reggie Ishman RB Doug Jena OL Younger Klipper RB Scott Laidlaw RB Vic Lamanuzzi WR Miles Moore QB, P Dave Ottmar OL Bill Reid OL Keith Rowen RB Reggie Sanderson Sr TE Bill Scott TE Glen Stone RB John Winesberry	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB John Blanchard DB Dennis Bragonier DL Roger Cowan DL Jim Ferguson DB John Ferguson DL Peter Hansel DB Charles McCloud LB Jim Merlo LB Pat Moore DB Gary Murray DB, K Steve Murray DL Pierre Perreault LB Dennis Peterson DB Randy Poltl DL Barry Reynolds DL Roger Stillwell	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Rod Garcia	Head coach Jack Christiansen Coordinators/assistant coaches Robert Jones –Offensive Coordinator & offensive line David Currey –Offensive back Pete Kettela –Receivers Norb Hecker –Defensive Coordinator & defensive line Ray Handley –Linebacker George Seifert –Defensive back Hudson Houck –Assistant Bill Moultrie –Special Teams Coordinator Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "Stanford's Ralston Broncos coach". Sarasota Herald Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. January 6, 1972. p. 1D.
2. "Five-year pro deal to Ralston". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 6, 1972. p. 23.
3. King, Errol (January 6, 1972). "Ralston's talking Super Bowl". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. p. C1.
4. "Christiansen accepts job at Stanford". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). UPI. January 22, 1972. p. 16.
5. "White decides on Cal; Tribe gets Christiansen". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 22, 1972. p. 1B.
6. "Christiansen Stanford's coach, White goes to Cal". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. January 22, 1972. p. 7.
7. "Indians are no more as Stanford name". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. March 4, 1972. p. 8.
8. "What is the history of Stanford's mascot and nickname?". Stanford Athletics. July 7, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
9. Wascher, Jim (March 3, 1972). "Senate abolishes mascot". The Stanford Daily . (California). p. 10.
10. "The Removal of the Indian Mascot at Stanford". Stanford Native American Cultural Center. Archived from the original on June 20, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
11. "Stanford nips Duke". Winston-Salem Journal & Sentinel. September 24, 1972. Retrieved January 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Stanford fights back West Virginia, 41–35". The Lincoln Star. October 1, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
13. Cawood, Neil (October 22, 1972). "Hungry Ducks pull 15-13 stunner". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1C.
14. "Stanford upset". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. October 22, 1972. p. D-8.
15. "Ducks combine long run, tough defense for upset". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. October 23, 1972. p. 7.
16. "Schedule/Results (Stanford 1972)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved May 25, 2025.
17. "Cards dump Huskies, 24-0". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 15, 1972. p. 6C.
18. "Stanford beats UW with Sixkiller hurt". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 15, 1972. p. 2, sports.

External links

• Game program: Stanford at Washington State – November 11, 1972