1972 National Champion: And Who Else Claims It

MULTIPLEDISPUTED

USC went 12-0 and was the unanimous consensus national champion of every major selector, with no rival claim from any selector.

The case for each side

USC

12-0

Recognized byAPConsensusFWAARecognizedNFFRecognizedUPIConsensus· claimed by the program

12-0, outscored opponents 467-134, unanimous No. 1 in the final AP poll (the first team so honored) and also No. 1 in UPI, FWAA, and NFF.

USC’s 1972 schedule

Delaware

10-0

Claimed by the program: no recognized selector picked them

A school claim from the Division II/small-college ranks, unrelated to the major-selector picks for this season.

Delaware’s 1972 schedule

No national title game was played after the 1972 season: before 1998 there was no mechanism to play one, which is why so many of these seasons were settled by vote instead.