1972 Tulane Green Wave football team

1972 Tulane Green Wave football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Bennie Ellender (2nd season)
Home stadium	Tulane Stadium

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

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.

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. 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.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 10–0	27,441
September 23	No. 16 Georgia		Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	W 24–13	43,064
September 30	at No. 8 Michigan	No. 18	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	L 7–41	84,162
October 7	Pittsburgh		Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	W 38–6	20,417
October 14	at Miami (FL)		Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	L 21–24	18,956
October 21	at West Virginia		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	L 19–31	29,500
October 28	at Georgia Tech		Grant Field Atlanta, GA	L 7–21	48,096
November 4	Kentucky		Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	W 18–7	18,377
November 11	Ohio		Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	W 44–6	17,535
November 18	at Vanderbilt		Dudley Field Nashville, TN	W 21–7	10,000
December 2	No. 11 LSU		Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA (Battle for the Rag)	L 3–9	85,372
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

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 Bennie Ellender Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt