1973 UCLA Bruins football team

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.

1973 UCLA Bruins football
Conference	Pacific-8
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 12
1973 record	9–2 (6–1 Pac-8)
Head coach	Pepper Rodgers (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Homer Smith (2nd season)
Home stadium	Los 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

Quarterbacks Mark Harmon and John Sciarra ran the wishbone offense, and the Bruins were 9–2 overall and 6–1 om 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

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 8	at No. 4 Nebraska*	No. 10	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE [1]	ABC	L 13–40	74,966
September 22	Iowa*	No. 18	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 55–18	34,456
September 29	at Michigan State*	No. 17	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 34–21	60,850
October 6	Utah*	No. 16	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 66–16	32,697
October 13	at Stanford	No. 15	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA [3]		W 59–13	55,000
October 20	at Washington State	No. 13	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA [4]		W 24–13	32,200
October 27	California	No. 13	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)		W 61–21	35,492
November 3	Washington	No. 10	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 62–13	30,000
November 10	at Oregon	No. 9	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR		W 27–7	21,200
November 17	Oregon State	No. 8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 56–14	18,540
November 24	at No. 9 USC	No. 8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA[2] (Victory Bell)	ABC	L 13–23	88,037
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll

Source:[5]

• Prior to the 1975 season, the Pac-8 and Big Ten conferences allowed only one postseason participant each, for the Rose Bowl.

Roster

• QB Mark Harmon
• PK Efren Herrera
• RB Kermit Johnson
• FB James McAlister
• QB John Sciarra
• FS Jim Bright
• LB Jack Jorgensen

Awards and honors

• First Team All Americans: Jimmy Allen (DB), Efren Herrera (K), Kermit Johnson (RB, Consensus selection), James McAlister (RB), Fred McNeill (DE)[6]
• All Conference First Team: Jimmy Allen (DB), James Bright (DB), Kermit Johnson (RB), Ed Kezirian (OT), Steve Klosterman (OG), Fulton Kuykendall (LB), Fred McNeill (DE), John Nanoski (DB), Al Oliver (OT), Cal Peterson (DE)

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. "How They Scored". Los Angeles Times. October 14, 1973. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
4. "Bruins sputter, but beat WSU 24-13". Eugene Register-Guard. (location). Associated Press. October 21, 1973. p. 2B.
5. College Football @ Sports-Reference.com
6. 1975 UCLA Media Guide, UCLA Athletic News Bureau, 1975