1968 UCLA Bruins football team

1968 UCLA Bruins football
1968 UCLA Bruins football
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Record	3–7 (2–4 Pac-8)
Head coach	Tommy Prothro (4th season);
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
	Seasons ← 1967 1969 →

The 1968 UCLA Bruins football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1968 NCAA University Division football season. In their fourth year under head coach Tommy Prothro, the Bruins compiled a 3–7 record (2–4 Pac-8) and finished in a tie for fifth place in the Pacific-8 Conference.^[1]

ConferencePacific-8 Conference

Record3–7 (2–4 Pac-8)

Headcoach

Tommy Prothro (4th season)

HomestadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum

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1968 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 USC $	6	–	0	–	0	9	–	1	–	1
No. 15 Oregon State	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Stanford	3	–	3	–	1	6	–	3	–	1
California	2	–	2	–	1	7	–	3	–	1
Oregon	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
UCLA	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Washington State	1	–	3	–	1	3	–	6	–	1
Washington	1	–	5	–	1	3	–	5	–	2

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

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UCLA's offensive leaders in 1968 were quarterback Jim Nader with 1,008 passing yards, running back Greg Jones with 497 rushing yards, and Ron Copeland with 372 receiving yards.^[2]

In a rebuilding year, the Bruins opened with two home wins: a 63–7 defeat of Pittsburgh, featuring a school-record 4 TD passes by QB Nader, relieving an injured starter Bill Bolden, and a ten-point win over Washington State.^[3]^[4] The season ground to a halt at Syracuse,^[5] and with QB Bolden in and out of the lineup due to injuries the rest of the season, plus several other starters eventually sidelined as well, UCLA won only once more, over Stanford 20–17.^[6]

The Bruins gave #1 USC and Heisman Trophy winner O. J. Simpson a scare in a 28–16 loss; UCLA, a near 2-TD underdog at the fog-shrouded Coliseum, trailed 21–16 deep into the fourth quarter and moved inside of USC's 5-yard line behind QB Nader before being stopped. A subsequent turnover near midfield set up a late Trojan drive for the clinching TD by Simpson with only 25 seconds to play. Though the brave effort vs. the top-ranked Trojans fueled optimism for the subsequent and successful 1969 season.

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Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	Pittsburgh*	No. 16	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 63–7	43,218	^[7]
September 28	Washington State	No. 8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 31–21	41,759	^[3]^[4]
October 5	at Syracuse*	No. 9	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	L 7–20	37,367	^[5]^[8]
October 12	No. 3 Penn State*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 6–21	35,778	^[9]
October 19	at California		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (rivalry)	L 15–39	48,000	^[10]
October 26	Stanford		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 20–17	37,935	^[6]^[11]
November 2	at No. 5 Tennessee*		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	L 18–42	64,078	^[12]
November 9	at No. 15 Oregon State		Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	L 21–45	41,361	^[13]
November 16	at Washington		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 0–6	52,500	^[14]
November 23	No. 1 USC		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	L 16–28	75,066	^[15]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

1968 UCLA Bruins football team

Schedule

Roster

References

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