1973 UCLA Bruins football team

1973 UCLA Bruins football
ConferencePacific-8 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 12
Record9–2 (6–1 Pac-8)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorHomer Smith (2nd season)
Offensive schemeWishbone
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
1973 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 USC $ 7 0 0 9 2 1
No. 12 UCLA 6 1 0 9 2 0
Stanford 5 2 0 7 4 0
Washington State 4 3 0 5 6 0
California 2 5 0 4 7 0
Oregon 2 5 0 2 9 0
Oregon State 2 5 0 2 9 0
Washington 0 7 0 2 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1973 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. Members of the Pacific-8 Conference, the Bruins were led by third-year head coach Pepper Rodgers and played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Quarterbacks Mark Harmon and John Sciarra ran the wishbone offense, and the Bruins were 9–2 overall and 6–1 on the Pac-8. After an opening loss at fourth-ranked Nebraska,[1] the Bruins won nine straight, but lost again to USC in the season finale.[2] UCLA repeated as conference runner-up, but the Pac-8 did not allow a second bowl team until the 1975 season. They were ranked twelfth in the final AP poll, ninth in the UPI coaches poll.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 8at No. 4 Nebraska*No. 10ABCL 13–4074,966[3]
September 22Iowa*No. 18W 55–1834,546[4]
September 29at Michigan State*No. 17W 34–2160,850[5]
October 6Utah*No. 16
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 66–1632,697[6]
October 131:35 p.m.at StanfordNo. 15W 59–1355,000[7]
October 20at Washington StateNo. 13W 24–1332,200[8]
October 273:00 p.m.CaliforniaNo. 13
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)
W 61–2135,492[9]
November 3WashingtonNo. 10
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 62–1330,063[10]
November 10at OregonNo. 9W 27–721,200[11]
November 17Oregon StateNo. 8
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 56–1418,540[12]
November 24at No. 9 USCNo. 8
ABCL 13–2388,037[13]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time

[14][15]

Game summaries

at No. 4 Nebraska

No. 10 UCLA at No. 4 Nebraska
Team 1 234Total
No. 10 Bruins 6 700 13
No. 4 Cornhuskers 14 6614 40

Iowa

Iowa at No. 18 UCLA
Team 1 234Total
Hawkeyes 10 008 18
No. 18 Bruins 3 211021 55
        

vs. No. 9 USC

No. 8 UCLA vs. No. 9 USC
Team 1 234Total
No. 8 Bruins 3 703 13
No. 9 Trojans 7 1033 23
  • Date: November 24, 1973
  • Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
    Los Angeles, CA
  • Game attendance: 88,037
    

[16]

Roster

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ "Cornhuskers too much for Bruins". Eugene Register-Guard. location. Associated Press. September 9, 1973. p. 1C.
  2. ^ "Another Pasadena visit for USC..." Eugene Register-Guard. location. Associated Press. November 25, 1973. p. 1D.
  3. ^ "Huskers explode; Rip UCLA 40–13". The Spokesman-Review. September 9, 1973. Retrieved September 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "UCLA steamrolls Iowa". Santa Cruz Sentinel. September 23, 1973. Retrieved September 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Johnson's 3 TDs lift UCLA past Spartans". Oakland Tribune. September 30, 1973. Retrieved September 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "UCLA on 66–16 tear of Utah". Oakland Tribune. October 7, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Bruins get 621 yards rushing in romp at Stanford". Ventura County Star. October 14, 1973. Retrieved September 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Bruins sputter, but beat WSU 24–13". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. October 21, 1973. p. 2B. Retrieved September 23, 2025 – via Google News Archive.
  9. ^ "UCLA mauls Cal Bears 61–21". The Columbian. October 28, 1973. Retrieved September 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Fan decrease, point increase in UCLA win". Independent Press-Telegram. November 4, 1973. Retrieved September 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Oregon rain-soaker; No razzle-dazzle as UCLA beats Ducks". The Fresno Bee. November 11, 1973. Retrieved September 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Bruins rip OSU 54–14 in rain". Tri-City Herald. November 18, 1973. Retrieved September 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "For the Roses, it's USC and (choose one)". The Los Angeles Times. November 25, 1973. Retrieved September 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ College Football @ Sports-Reference.com
  15. ^ "Schedule/Results (1973 UCLA)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  16. ^ "Trojans Triumph, 23-13". The New York Times. November 25, 1973. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  17. ^ 1975 UCLA Media Guide, UCLA Athletic News Bureau, 1975