1972 San Francisco State Gators football team

The 1972 San Francisco State Gators football team represented California State University, San Francisco—now known as San Francisco State University—as a member of the Far Western Conference (FWC) during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. Led by 12th-year head coach Vic Rowen, San Francisco State compiled an overall record of 3–8 with a mark of 1–4 in conference play, tying for fifth place in the FWC. For the season the team was outscored by its opponents 323 to 250. The Gators played home games at Cox Stadium in San Francisco.

1972 San Francisco State Gators football
Conference	Far Western Conference
Record	3–8 (1–4 FWC)
Head coach	Vic Rowen (12th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dick Logan (3rd season)
Home stadium	Cox Stadium

1972 Far Western Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
UC Davis $	5	–	0	–	0			6	–	2	–	2
Humboldt State	4	–	1	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Chico State	2	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Cal State Hayward	2	–	3	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
San Francisco State	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Sacramento State	1	–	4	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	at Nevada*	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV	L 6–37
September 16	at Northern Arizona*	Lumberjack Stadium Flagstaff, AZ	L 10–31
September 23	Cal State Northridge*	Cox Stadium San Francisco, CA	L 0–23	1,500
September 30	at Saint Mary's*	Saint Mary's Stadium Moraga, CA	W 38–12
October 7	UC Davis	Cox Stadium San Francisco, CA	L 32–47	2,500
October 14	at Cal Lutheran*	Mt. Clef Field Thousand Oaks, CA	L 14–21	2,000
October 21	Azusa Pacific*	Cox Stadium San Francisco, CA	W 55–29
October 28	Chico State	Cox Stadium San Francisco, CA	W 20–10	1,000
November 4	at Cal State Hayward	Pioneer Stadium Hayward, CA	L 41–48	500
November 11	Sacramento State	Cox Stadium San Francisco, CA	L 13–14	1,000
November 18	at Humboldt State	Redwood Bowl Arcata, CA	L 21–51
*Non-conference game