1972 Wisconsin Badgers football team

The 1972 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 1972 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third year under head coach John Jardine, the Badgers compiled a 4–7 record (2–6 against conference opponents) and finished in ninth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1]

1972 Wisconsin Badgers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1972 record	4–7 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Jardine (3rd season)
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium

1972 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Michigan +	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Ohio State +	7	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Purdue	6	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Michigan State	5	–	2	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Indiana	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Illinois	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Iowa	2	–	6	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Wisconsin	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	8	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

UW Band forms an elephant at halftime of the Northwestern game

Rufus Ferguson led the team with 1,004 rushing yards, was selected as the team's most valuable player, and was chosen by the Associated Press (AP) as a first-team running back, and by the United Press International (UPI) as a second-team running back, on the 1972 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[2] Three other Wisconsin players received All-Big Ten honors: center Mike Webster (UPI-2); offensive guard Keith Nosbusch (AP-2, UPI-2); linebacker Dave Lokanc (AP-1, UPI-2).[2][3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 16	Northern Illinois*	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 31–7	62,710
September 23	Syracuse*	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 31–7	67,234
September 30	at LSU*	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	L 7–27	69,142
October 7	Northwestern	Camp Randal Stadium Madison, WI	W 21–14	74,595
October 14	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	L 7–33	50,122
October 21	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 0–31	62,638
October 28	No. 4 Ohio State	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 20–28	78,713
November 4	Iowa	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	W 16–14	78,723
November 11	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 6–27	53,507
November 18	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 7–27	45,703
November 25	Minnesota	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	L 6–14	60,746
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[4]

Roster

1972 Wisconsin Badgers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 14 Gregg Bohlig So RB 21 Rufus Ferguson Sr TE 86 Tom Lonnborg Sr TE 88 Jack Novak So G 67 Dan Schroeder Jr C 51 Mike Webster Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 70 Tom Koch Sr DT 79 Michael Mayer Sr DE 78 Robert Storck Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach John Jardine Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Players in the 1973 NFL Draft

The following Wisconsin players were selected in the 1973 NFL Draft.[5]

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Robert Storck	Defensive Tackle	12	297	Los Angeles Rams
Rufus Ferguson	Running Back	16	404	Atlanta Falcons

References

1. "1972 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
2. "Wells named to All-Big Ten team". The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois). November 28, 1972.
3. "UM, State, Buckeyes Dominate UPI's All Big Ten Team". Ludington Daily News (UPI story). November 28, 1972. p. 5.
4. "Wisconsin Badgers Index". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
5. "1972 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved March 1, 2017.