1968 UCLA Bruins football team

1968 UCLA Bruins football
ConferencePacific-8 Conference
Record3–7 (2–4 Pac-8)
Head coach
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons
← 1967
1969 →
1968 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
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

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]

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.

  1. ^ "1968 UCLA Bruins Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  2. ^ "1968 UCLA Bruins Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  3. ^ Brown, Bruce (September 28, 1968). "Cougars buck big odds". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 10.
  4. ^ Brown, Bruce (September 30, 1968). "Home game next for WSU after solid UCLA showing". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 17.
  5. ^ "Orangemen upset No. 9 Bruins in the Archbold Stadium mud, 20-7". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 6, 1968. p. 4B.
  6. ^ "UCLA stops Tribe". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 27, 1968. p. 3B.