1972 Sugar Bowl (December)
The 1972 Sugar Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 31, 1972, in New Orleans, Louisiana. This 39th edition of the Sugar Bowl featured the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Oklahoma Sooners. Both teams came in with a 10–1 record and were ranked in the top five in the polls; Penn State was fifth and Oklahoma was second. It was played at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, for the first time on New Year's Eve. Oklahoma won the game 14–0.[3][4][5]
| 1972 Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 31, 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Tulane Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Tinker Owens (FL, Oklahoma) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Oklahoma by 14 points [1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 80,123[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Chris Schenkel and Bud Wilkinson | ||||||||||||||||||
The shutout was the first for Penn State in over six years, and it was their first bowl loss in a decade.[3]
This was the only Sugar Bowl between 1950 and 1995 that did not include a team from the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
Game summary
Penn State was without their leading rusher, junior running back John Cappelletti, who was suffering from a virus and a temperature of 102 °F (39 °C). Without Cappelletti, the Lions' defense was forced to step up and it held the Sooners explosive Wishbone offense to only 14 points while forcing eight fumbles, recovering five. However, Oklahoma out gained the Lions 543 to 196 yards, 278 to 49 on the ground.
Aftermath
Oklahoma was forced to forfeit nine games from the 1972 season after they had used two ineligible freshmen. Despite the forfeit, Penn State refused to accept the win in the 1972 Sugar Bowl, thus the NCAA does not recognize the Penn State forfeit win over Oklahoma. The NCAA also stated that forfeits were not part of the NCAA sanctions levied against the Sooners. The NCAA says it only restricted OU's scholarships, TV appearances, and bowl appearances.[6]
The scandal however, prevented the Sooners from playing in bowl games for two seasons after Chuck Fairbanks's departure to the New England Patriots. Offensive coordinator Barry Switzer, who spearheaded Oklahoma's adoption of the Wishbone formation during the 1970 season, succeeded Fairbanks.
The 1974 Sooners were named national champions by the Associated Press, but could not be ranked by the coaches' poll, due to a rule adopted following the 1973 season by the American Football Coaches Association which prohibited teams on major NCAA probation from the rankings.
The Sooners were allowed to appear on television in 1973, but were banned in 1974 and the 1975 regular season. Oklahoma returned to television with the Orange Bowl on January 1, 1976, when it defeated Michigan 14-6 to secure its second consecutive national championship.
Oklahoma did not return to the Sugar Bowl until after the 2003 season, losing in the Bowl Championship Series championship game to LSU 21-14.
Penn State lost the Sugar Bowl twice more in the 1970s to Alabama before breaking through vs. Georgia in the 1983 game to win the national championship for 1982.
References
- "Oklahoma 2-TD favorite to outclass Nittany Lions". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 31, 1992. p. 4B.
- "Year-by-Year Results". Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- Parascenzo, Marino (January 1, 1973). "Sugar not so sweet for State". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 61.
- "Paterno mum on move to pros after Sugar Bowl loss". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 1, 1973. p. 4B.
- "Sooners win and wait". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1973. p. 24.
- "After Further Review...The NCAA Weighs-In". Retrieved 2008-05-14.