1975 UCLA Bruins football team
| {{{year}}} [[{{{team}}} football]] | |
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| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 5 |
| AP | No. 5 |
| Head coach |
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5 UCLA ^ + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14 California + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 17 USC | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1975 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. Coached by Dick Vermeil, the Bruins won their first conference championship in 10 years, and won the Rose Bowl over an undefeated and top-ranked Ohio State team.
Regular season
Coming off an injury plagued 1974 season that saw the Bruins go 6-3-2, UCLA began the season ranked #16. A season opening 37-21 win over Iowa State saw them move up to #12; this was followed by a 34-28 win over #10 Tennessee. But then they stumbled in a turnover plagued 20-20 tie at Air Force; Ohio State then handed UCLA its first loss of the season, 41–20, on October 4, 1975 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. After the game, Woody Hayes prophetically told his team that they would be facing UCLA again in the Rose Bowl. UCLA was the only opponent to score more than 14 points in a game all season against Ohio State, and they did it twice.
The Ohio State loss dropped the Bruins out of the top 20, but they returned to #13 after wins over Stanford, Washington State, and a key win over California. But another loss, this time to Washington 17-13, dropped them back out of the top 20 and resulted in a 5-way tie for 1st place in the Pac-8 between UCLA, California, Stanford, USC, and Washington. After a pair of wins over the Oregon schools, the Bruins went into their season ending game against rival USC needing a win to go to the Rose Bowl. A loss or tie would send California to Pasadena. Despite fumbling 11 times and losing 8, UCLA beat the Trojans 25-22. UCLA ended up tied with California for the Pac-8 championship, but advanced to the Rose Bowl on the strength of their 28–14 win over the Golden Bears.[1] The Bruins went into the Rose Bowl ranked #11. Ironically, the 1975 USC-UCLA game was legendary coach John McKay and Vermeil's final game at the Coliseum.
It was the only Rose Bowl appearance for Dick Vermeil in only his second season coaching at UCLA. He would leave to coach the Philadelphia Eagles after the season.
Schedule
| Game | Date | Time (PST) | Opponent | Result | Bruins points | Opponents | Record |
| 1 | Sept. 13 | 8:05 PM | Iowa State | Win | 37 | 21 | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | Sept. 20 | 12:50 PM | Tennessee | Win | 34 | 28 | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | Sept. 27 | 2:30 PM | @ Air Force | Tie | 20 | 20 | 2–0–1 |
| 4 | Oct. 4 | 6:00 PM | Ohio State | Loss | 20 | 41 | 2–1–1 |
| 5 | Oct. 11 | 1:30 PM | @ Stanford | Win | 31 | 21 | 3–1–1 |
| 6 | Oct. 18 | 1:30 PM | @ Washington State | Win | 37 | 23 | 4–1–1 |
| 7 | Oct. 25 | 3:00 PM | California | Win | 28 | 14 | 5–1–1 |
| 8 | Nov. 1 | 1:30 PM | Washington | Loss | 13 | 17 | 5–2–1 |
| 9 | Nov. 8 | 1:30 PM | @ Oregon | Win | 50 | 17 | 6–2–1 |
| 10 | Nov. 15 | 1:30 PM | Oregon State | Win | 31 | 9 | 7–2–1 |
| 11 | Nov. 28 | 5:00 PM | @ USC | Win | 25 | 22 | 8–2–1 |
| 12 | Jan. 1 | 2:00 PM | Ohio State (1976 Rose Bowl) | Win | 23 | 10 | 9–2–1 |
Game Notes
Ohio State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| Ohio State | 7 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 41 |
1st quarter scoring: UCLA – James Sarpy 13-yard pass from John Sciarra (Brett White kick); OSU – Greene 2-yard run (Klaban kick)
2nd quarter scoring: OSU – Johnson 3-yard run (Klaban kick); OSU – Johnson 2-yard run (Klaban kick); OSU – Greene 17-yard run (Klaban kick)
3rd quarter scoring: OSU – A. Griffin 17-yard run (Klaban kick); OSU – Klaban 34-yard field goal; UCLA – Eddie Ayers 2-yard run (White kick)
4th quarter scoring: UCLA – Ayers 1-yard run (kick failed); OSU – Klaban 42-yard field goal
Ohio State (Rose Bowl)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 0 | 0 | 16 | 7 | 23 |
| Ohio State | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
1st quarter scoring: Ohio State – Tom Klaban 42-yard field goal
2nd quarter scoring: No score
3rd quarter scoring: UCLA – Brett White 33-yard field goal; UCLA – Wally Henry 16-yard pass from John Sciarra (White kick failed); UCLA – Henry 67-yard pass from Sciarra (White kick)
4th quarter scoring: Ohio State – Pete Johnson 3-yard run (Klaban kick); UCLA – Wendell Tyler 54-yard run (White kick)
Players and coaches
34 returning lettermen from Coach Dick Vermeil's first team that was 6–3–2 in 1974.[3]
Offense
Defense
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Specialists
Coaches
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Awards and honors
- John Sciarra, QB, All-Conference, NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship, ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All America, National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Scholarship, NCAA Top Eight Award, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (2014)
- Randy Cross, G, All-Conference, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (2010)
- Fulton Kuykendall, LB, All-Conference
- Head coach Dick Vermeil will be inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2014.[4]
- Barney Person, CB, Lead nation & UCLA in interceptions, made key Rose Bowl interception
1975 team players in the NFL
The following players were claimed in the 1975 NFL Draft.
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Fulton Kuykendall | Linebacker | 6 | 132 | Atlanta Falcons |
| Eugene Clark | Offensive Guard | 9 | 222 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Art Kuehn | Center | 15 | 384 | Washington Redskins |
| Myke Horton | Offensive Tackle | 17 | 428 | New England Patriots |
The following players were claimed in the 1976 NFL Draft.
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Cliff Frazier | Defensive Tackle | 2 | 41 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Randy Cross | Center | 2 | 42 | San Francisco 49ers |
| John Sciarra | Defensive Back | 4 | 103 | Chicago Bears |
| Phil McKinnely | Tackle | 9 | 246 | Atlanta Falcons |
| Norman Andersen | Wide Receiver | 11 | 299 | Chicago Bears |
| Terry Tautolo | Linebacker | 13 | 353 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Brett White | Punter | 15 | 412 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Dale Curry | Linebacker | 15 | 430 | Dallas Cowboys |
The following player was claimed in the 1977 NFL Draft.
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Wendell Tyler | Running Back | 3 | 79 | Los Angeles Rams |
| Rick Walker | Tight End | 4 | 85 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Ray Burks | Linebacker | 12 | 318 | Kansas City Chiefs |
References
- ^ Jeff Prugh – UCLA DROPS BALL BUT HOLDS ROSES; USC Loses in McKay's Farewell. Los Angeles Times. November 29, 1975
- ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=989&season=1975
- ^ UCLA 1975 Press Guide, Compiled by UCLA Athletic News Bureau, Vic Kelley, Manager
- ^ Knute Rockne, Dick Vermeil and Ki-Jana Carter to be Inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, Tournament of Roses Association, August 26, 2014
- ^ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1976.htm