Final OAF ranking (& ratings) for the 1972 college football season:

Rank Team Name Rating Record (After Bowls)
AP		  (Before Bowls)
UPI		 Bowl Game Results
1 USC 128.0504 12-0 1 1 Defeated Ohio State 42-17
2 TEXAS 90.1240 10-1 3 5 Defeated Alabama 17-13
3 OKLAHOMA 81.3076 11-1 2 2 Defeated Penn State 14-0
4 AUBURN 80.8111 10-1 5 7 Defeated Colorado 24-3
5 ALABAMA 76.9733 10-2 7 4 Lost to Texas
6 TENNESSEE 76.4356 10-2 8 11 Defeated LSU 24-17
7 PENN STATE 76.3520 10-2 10 8 Lost to Oklahoma
8 OHIO STATE 73.2461 9-2 9 3 Lost to USC
9 NEBRASKA 72.9783 9-2-1 4 9 Defeated Notre Dame 40-6
10 MICHIGAN 72.5741 10-1 6 6 No Bowl Game
11 NORTH CAROLINA 62.6855 11-1 12 NR Defeated Texax Tech 32-28
12 LSU 62.6135 9-2-1 11 10 Lost to Tennessee
13 COLORADO 62.3401 8-4 16 14 Lost to Auburn
14 FLORIDA 61.1526        
15 NOTRE DAME 59.0064        
16 MICHIGAN STATE 58.3408        
17 UCLA 57.3387        
18 GEORGIA 56.4014        
19 PURDUE 56.3437        
20 MINNESOTA 55.2184        
21 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 54.5549        
22 OKLAHOMA STATE 54.4164        
23 WASHINGTON 52.9609        
24 WASHINGTON STATE 52.3963        
25 MISSOURI 52.3009        
26 KANSAS 51.6144        
27 GEORGIA TECH 51.5163        
28 SMU 51.2039        
29 IOWA STATE 50.8441        
30 SAN DIEGO STATE 50.5113        
31 BAYLOR 50.1186        
32 ARKANSAS 49.6003        
33 RICE 49.4463        
34 MISSISSIPPI 49.1336        
35 TEXAS TECH 48.9083        
36 MIAMI (F) 48.7487        
37 ARIZONA STATE 48.6663        
38 TCU 48.1096        
39 IOWA 47.6078        
40 ILLINOIS 46.9356        
41 WISCONSIN 46.3996        
42 INDIANA 46.0778        
43 TEXAS A+M 45.8729        
44 WEST VIRGINIA 44.4284        
45 OREGON 43.9981        
46 HOUSTON 43.9748        
47 TULANE 43.2395        
48 VIRGINIA TECH 42.6791        
49 STANFORD 42.5242        
50 AIR FORCE 41.8197        
51 NORTHWESTERN 41.7546        
52 ARMY 41.5994        
53 CALIFORNIA 41.5148        
54 MISSISSIPPI STATE 41.5046        
55 DUKE 41.2506