1972 Tulane Green Wave football team

The 1972 Tulane Green Wave football team was an American football team that represented Tulane University during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season as an independent. In their second year under head coach Bennie Ellender, the team compiled a 6–5 record.

1972 Tulane Green Wave football
ConferenceIndependent
Record6–5
Head coach
Home stadiumTulane Stadium
Seasons
← 1971
1973 →
1972 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Penn State     10 2 0
No. 14 Notre Dame     8 3 0
Utah State     8 3 0
West Virginia     8 4 0
Florida State     7 4 0
Northern Illinois     7 4 0
Rutgers     7 4 0
No. 20 Georgia Tech     7 4 1
Air Force     6 4 0
Army     6 4 0
Virginia Tech     6 4 1
Houston     6 4 1
Tulane     6 5 0
Temple     5 4 0
Colgate     5 4 1
Holy Cross     5 4 1
Syracuse     5 6 0
Miami (FL)     5 6 0
Dayton     4 6 1
Boston College     4 7 0
Navy     4 7 0
South Carolina     4 7 0
Southern Miss     3 7 1
Xavier     3 8 0
Marshall     2 8 0
Cincinnati     2 9 0
Villanova     2 9 0
Pittsburgh     1 10 0
Rankings from AP Poll

In Tulane's loss at Miami, the Hurricanes were erroneously awarded a fifth down late in the fourth quarter, helping them drive to the winning touchdown.[1] The Southeastern Conference, which assigned the officials for the game, acknowledged the error, but it was too late to change the outcome. Nearly two months later, Tulane came up achingly short in its quest to end a 24-year winless streak vs. archrival LSU in the season finale. Trailing 9–3 with seconds remaining, Green Wave halfback Bill Huber took a swing pass in the flat and appeared headed to a touchdown, but he was stopped at the 1-yard line by Tiger safety Frank Racine after time ran out.[2]

Schedule

edit
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 15at Boston CollegeW 10–027,441[3]
September 23No. 16 GeorgiaW 24–1343,064[4]
September 30at No. 8 MichiganNo. 18L 7–4184,162[5]
October 7Pittsburgh
  • Tulane Stadium
  • New Orleans, LA
W 38–620,417[6]
October 14at Miami (FL)L 21–2418,956[1]
October 21at West VirginiaL 19–3129,500[7]
October 28at Georgia TechL 7–2148,096[8]
November 4Kentucky
  • Tulane Stadium
  • New Orleans, LA
W 18–718,377[9]
November 11Ohio
  • Tulane Stadium
  • New Orleans, LA
W 44–617,535[10]
November 18at VanderbiltW 21–710,000[11]
December 2No. 11 LSU
L 3–985,372[2]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

edit
1972 Tulane Green Wave football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 22 Mike Foley Jr
C 50 Rob Foley Jr
QB 10 Steve Foley So
QB 16 Mike Walker Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DE 80 Rusty Lee Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "5th down touchdown pass lifts Miami over Tulane". The Miami Herald. October 15, 1972. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "Tigers nudge rugged Wave". The Shreveport Times. December 3, 1972. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Tulane hangs 10–0 collar on BC". The Boston Globe. September 16, 1972. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Tulane tips odds again; Georgia is victim, 24–13". The Atlanta Constitution. September 24, 1972. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Michigan blitzes Tulane, 41–7". Detroit Free Press. October 1, 1972. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Pitt smothered by Tulane, 38–6". The Pittsburgh Press. October 8, 1972. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Turn-about, WVU converts Tulane mistakes into important 31–19 victory". Sunday Gazette-Mail. October 22, 1972. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "'Jackets top Tulane 21–7". The Tampa Tribune. October 29, 1972. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "'What's new, pussycats?' - Nothing as UK falls again". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 5, 1972. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Green Wave clips Ohio U. by 44–6". The Daily Advertiser. November 12, 1972. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Wave flattens Commodores 21–7". The Tennessean. November 19, 1972. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.