1981 UCLA Bruins football team

1981 UCLA Bruins football
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, L 14–33 vs. Michigan
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Record	7–4–1 (5–2–1 Pac-10)
Head coach	Terry Donahue (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Homer Smith (4th season)
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

1981 Pacific-10 Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 Washington $	6	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 16 Arizona State	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 14 USC	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Washington State	5	–	2	–	1			8	–	3	–	1
UCLA	5	–	2	–	1			7	–	4	–	1
Arizona	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Stanford	4	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
California	2	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Oregon	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Oregon State	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 UCLA Bruins football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their sixth year under head coach Terry Donahue, the Bruins compiled a 7–4–1 record (5–2–1 Pac-10), finished in a tie for fourth place in the Pacific-10 Conference, and lost to Michigan in the 1981 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl.

UCLA's offensive leaders in 1981 were quarterback Tom Ramsey with 1,793 passing yards, running back Kevin Nelson with 883 rushing yards, and wide receiver Cormac Carney with 539 receiving yards.

This was the Bruins' final season at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, their home field since 1928, sharing with the USC Trojans. UCLA moved to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for the 1982 season.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 12	at Arizona	No. 12	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ		W 35–18	49,311
September 19	at No. 20 Wisconsin*	No. 9	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 31–13	69,212
September 26	at Iowa*	No. 6	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	KTLA	L 7–20	60,004
October 3	Colorado*	No. 16	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 27–7	40,347
October 10	at Stanford	No. 17	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA		L 23–26	70,103
October 17	at No. 18 Washington State		Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	ABC	T 17–17	40,000
October 24	California		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 34–6	41,637
October 31	at Oregon		Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR		W 28–11	24,272
November 7	No. 16 Washington		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 31–0	41,818
November 14	No. 9 Arizona State	No. 18	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 34–24	47,361
November 21	at No. 10 USC	No. 15	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	ABC	L 21–22	89,432
December 31	vs. No. 16 Michigan*	No. 19	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)		L 14–33	50,107
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1981 UCLA Bruins football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 24 Danny Andrews Fr QB 12 Steve Bono So RB 42 Frank Bruno Jr WR 83 Cormac Carney Jr RB 46 Frank Cephous So WR 36 Ricky Coffman Sr WR 18 Willie Curran Sr G 59 Dan Dufour Jr TE 90 James Forge Sr TE Harper Howell OT 67 Duval Love Fr OL 62 Dan Mahistedt So RB Terry Morehead RB 3 Kevin Nelson So QB 10 Rick Neuheisel So QB 9 David Norrie Fr C 51 Dave Otey Sr QB 14 Tom Ramsey Jr RB Toa Saipale RB 37 Burness Scott So OT 67 Luis Sharpe Sr WR 26 Jo-Jo Townsell Jr RB 22 Bryan Wiley Fr WR 30 Dokie Williams Jr OL 60 Steve Williams So G 68 Blake Wingle Jr TE 91 Tim Wrightman Sr OL 66 Chris Yelch So WR 82 Mike Young Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 86 Ron Butler So LB 39 Neal Dellocono Fr DT 53 Joe Gary Sr LB 92 Ike Gordon Sr DB 2 Walter Lang Jr LB 27 Blanchard Montgomery Jr DT 40 Karl Morgan Jr DL 55 Martin Moss Sr LB Gene Newborn LB 99 Brad Plemmons Sr S 7 Don Rogers So DB 21 Lupe Sanchez Jr SS 32 Tom Sullivan Jr DB 35 Jimmy Turner Jr LB 41 Doug West So LB 87 Glenn Windom Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 17 Kevin Buenafe So K 8 Norm Johnson Sr	Head coach Terry Donahue Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Season summary

At USC

See also: 1981 USC Trojans football team and Victory Bell (UCLA–USC)

#15 UCLA Bruins (7–2–1) at #10 USC Trojans (8–2)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
UCLA	7	11	3	0	21
USC	3	9	0	10	22

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

• Date: November 21, 1981
• Game attendance: 89,432
• TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles
• Eugene Register-Guard, 1981 Nov 22.

Game information

First quarter USC – Steve Jordan 38-yard field goal. USC 3–0. Drive: UCLA – Kevin Nelson 11-yard run (Norm Johnson kick). UCLA 7–3. Drive: Second quarter USC – Steve Jordan 44-yard field goal. UCLA 7–6. Drive: USC – Marcus Allen 7-yard run (pass failed). USC 12–7. Drive: UCLA – Ricky Coffman 23-yard pass from Tom Ramsey (pass good). UCLA 15–12. Drive: UCLA – Norm Johnson 32-yard field goal. UCLA 18–12. Drive: Third quarter UCLA – Norm Johnson 28-yard field goal. UCLA 21–12. Drive: Fourth quarter USC – Steve Jordan 22-yard field goal. UCLA 21–15. Drive: USC – Marcus Allen 5-yard run (Steve Jordan kick), 2:14. USC 22–21. Drive: Top passers UCLA – Tom Ramsey – 12/25, 154 yards, TD, 2 INT USC – John Mazur – 9/22, 65 yards, INT Top rushers UCLA – Kevin Nelson – 26 rushes, 79 yards, TD USC – Marcus Allen – 40 rushes, 219 yards, 2 TD Top receivers UCLA – Jo-Jo Townsell – 5 receptions, 85 yards USC – Jeff Simmons – 2 receptions, 64 yards

Norm Johnson's game-winning 46-yard field goal attempt was blocked in the final seconds and UCLA lost its opportunity to play in the Rose Bowl.

1982 NFL Draft

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Luis Sharpe	Tackle	1	16	St. Louis Cardinals
Tim Wrightman	Tight end	3	62	Chicago Bears