1972 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

The 1972 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma State University in the Big Eight Conference during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. In their first and only season under head coach Dave Smith, the Cowboys compiled a 6–5 record (4–3 against conference opponents), tied for third place in the conference, and outscored opponents by a combined total of 259 to 203.

1972 Oklahoma State Cowboys football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	6–5 (4–3 Big 8)
Head coach	Dave Smith (1st season)
Home stadium	Lewis Field

1972 Big Eight Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Oklahoma $	6	–	1	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 4 Nebraska $	5	–	1	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
No. 16 Colorado	4	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Oklahoma State	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	4	–	1			5	–	6	–	1
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion The Big 8 Conference mandated Oklahoma forfeits in three conference games, giving Nebraska the title. Oklahoma reverted this record at a later date; hence, both Oklahoma and Nebraska claim this title. Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included George Palmer with 937 rushing yards, Brent Blackman with 572 passing yards, Steve Pettes with 154 receiving yards, and Alton Gerard with 42 points scored.

The team played its home games at Lewis Field in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	Texas–Arlington		Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	W 21–3	31,500
September 23	at Arkansas*		War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	L 23–24	54,431
September 30	No. 3 Colorado		Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	W 31–6	38,500
October 7	Missouri		Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	W 17–16
October 14	at Virginia Tech*	No. 19	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	L 32–34	36,000
October 21	Baylor*		Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	W 20–7	39,000
October 28	at No. 3 Nebraska		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	L 0–34	76,432
November 4	Kansas		Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	L 10–13	31,164
November 11	at Kansas State		KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	W 45–14	25,000
November 25	No. 17 Iowa State		Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	W 45–14	26,495
December 2	at No. 3 Oklahoma	No. 20	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (Bedlam Series)	L 15–38	62,363
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1972 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 82 Charlie Beall Sr QB 10 Brent Blackman Jr G 75 Bon Boatwright Jr OT 61 Mike Clendennen Jr TE 85 Reuben Gant Jr C 52 Bert Jacobson Sr RB 35 George Palmer So WR 81 Steve Pettes Jr WR 18 David Rosenthal Jr OT 77 Tom Wolf So G 64 Pat Yates Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 54 Bobby Bacon Jr LB 62 Bubba Bain Sr DT 68 Gill Barnes Sr FS 36 Alvin Brown Jr DT 65 Barry Price Jr DE 93 Glenn Robinson Jr CB 28 Darryl Stewart Jr CB 34 Mike Terry So DE 94 Doug Tarrant Jr LB 60 Cleveland Vann Jr DT 72 Jimmy Williams Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Hayden Fry Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt