1972 Kentucky Wildcats football team

American college football season

1972 Kentucky Wildcats football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	3–8 (2–5 SEC)
Head coach	John Ray (4th season)
Home stadium	McLean Stadium
Seasons← 1971 1973 →

1972 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 7 Alabama $	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 5 Auburn	6	–	1	–	0	10	–	1	–	0
No. 11 LSU	4	–	1	–	1	9	–	2	–	1
No. 8 Tennessee	4	–	2	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Georgia	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Florida	3	–	3	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Ole Miss	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Kentucky	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Mississippi State	1	–	6	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Led by fourth-year head coach John Ray, the Wildcats compiled an overall record of 3–8, with a mark of 2–5 in conference play, and finished tied for seventh in the SEC.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 16	Villanova*	McLean Stadium Lexington, KY	W 25–7	34,500
September 23	at No. 7 Alabama	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	L 0–35	71,433
September 30	Indiana*	McLean Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	L 34–35	37,500
October 7	Mississippi State	McLean Stadium Lexington, KY	W 17–13	37,500
October 14	at North Carolina*	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	L 20–31	42,500
October 21	at No. 7 LSU	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	L 0–10	64,601
October 28	Georgia	McLean Stadium Lexington, KY	L 7–13	37,500
November 4	at Tulane*	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	L 7–18	18,377
November 11	Vanderbilt	McLean Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	W 14–13	30,000
November 18	at Florida	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	L 0–40	47,639
November 25	at No. 12 Tennessee	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	L 7–17	64,836
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1972 Kentucky Wildcats football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
C	`52`	Dan Neal	Sr
QB	`14`	Jim Reed	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`42`	Frank LeMaster	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

John Ray

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

References

"1972 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
"Villanova falters, bows to Kentucky". The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 17, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Bama gets some charity, bombs a tired Kentucky". The Anniston Star. September 24, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Hoosier 'thrill show' snares 35–34 triumph". The Indianapolis Star. October 1, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Kentucky edges State". The Delta Democrat-Times. October 8, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"North Carolina staves off upset-minded Kentucky, 31–20". Rocky Mount Telegram. October 15, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"LSU keeps up with Jones boy". The Shreveport Times. October 22, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Georgia topples Kentucky". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. October 29, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"'What's new, pussycats?' - Nothing as UK falls again". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 5, 1972. Retrieved January 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
"Kentucky comeback upends Vanderbilt 14–13". The Paducah Sun-Democrat. November 12, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Explosive Florida 'Moore' than Wildcats can handle". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. November 19, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"A gritty effort by Kentucky, but Tennessee triumphs 17–7". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 26, 1972. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e Kentucky Wildcats football
Venues	Stoll Field/McLean Stadium (1916–1972) Kroger Field (1973–present) E.J. Nutter Training Facility (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Centre Florida Indiana Louisville: Governor's Cup Tennessee Transylvania: Battle On Broadway Vanderbilt
Culture & lore	The Wildcat Scratch Blue "On, On, U of K" "Kentucky Fight" Marching band Bluegrass Miracle 2003 Arkansas game Big Blue Nation
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees Starting quarterbacks
Seasons	1881 1882–1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold

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