4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Penn State. December 2: No. 1 USC closed its regular season at home with a 45–23 win over No. 10 Notre Dame to finish at 11–0. No. 2 Alabama (10–0), which had already clinched the SEC championship, hoped to do the same as it met No. 9 Auburn (8–1) in their annual Iron Bowl rivalry game in Birmingham. Auburn spoiled perfection, beating Alabama 17–16. No. 3 Oklahoma closed its regular season with a 10–1 record and the Big 8 title after a 38–15 win over No. 20 Oklahoma State. No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Penn State had both finished their regular seasons. The final regular season poll featured No. 1 USC, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Alabama, and No. 5 Penn State. In 1972, only the Rose Bowl (Big Ten vs. Pac-8) and Cotton Bowl (SWC winner) had rigid conference tie-ins. Thus, Big 8 champion Oklahoma passed up an Orange Bowl invitation to play in the Sugar Bowl against Penn State, while SEC champion Alabama turned down the Sugar to meet No. 7 Texas (which had breezed to the SWC title after its early-season loss to Oklahoma) in the Cotton. For the first time, the Sugar Bowl was played at night on New Year's Eve, rather than New Year's Day afternoon. With two consecutive victories in the Orange Bowl, No. 9 Nebraska was invited to a third against No. 12 Notre Dame. Conference standings Bowl games Major bowls Sunday, December 31, 1972 ''Monday, January 1, 1973 The final AP poll in January was: 1. USC (12–0), 2. Oklahoma (11–1), 3. Texas (10–1), 4. Nebraska (9–2–1), 5. Auburn (10–1) Other bowls Prior to the 1975 season, the Big Ten and Pac-8 conferences allowed only one postseason participant each, for the Rose Bowl. Heisman Trophy The Big Eight Conference dominated the Heisman race in 1972, as the top three were from Nebraska and Oklahoma: Johnny Rodgers, WB – Nebraska, 1310 points Greg Pruitt, RB – Oklahoma, 966 Rich Glover, MG – Nebraska, 652 Bert Jones, QB – LSU, 351 Terry Davis, QB – Alabama, 338 John Hufnagel, QB – Penn State, 292 George Amundson, RB – Iowa State, 219 Otis Armstrong, RB – Purdue, 208 Don Strock, QB – Virginia Tech, 144 Gary Huff, QB – Florida State, 138 Source: See also 1972 NCAA University Division football rankings 1972 College