1981 UCLA Bruins football team

American college football season

1981 UCLA Bruins football
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, L 14–33 vs. Michigan
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Record7–4–1 (5–2–1 Pac-10)
Head coach
  • Terry Donahue (6th season)
Offensive coordinatorHomer Smith (4th season)
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons
← 1980
1982 →
1981 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
  • e
 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.[1]

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.[2]

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

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 12at ArizonaNo. 12W 35–1849,311
September 19at No. 20 Wisconsin*No. 9W 31–1369,212
September 26at Iowa*No. 6KTLAL 7–2060,004
October 3Colorado*No. 16W 27–740,347
October 10at StanfordNo. 17L 23–2670,103
October 17at No. 18 Washington StateABCT 17–1740,000
October 24California
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 34–641,637
October 31at OregonW 28–1124,272
November 7No. 16 Washington
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 31–041,818
November 14No. 9 Arizona StateNo. 18
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 34–2447,361
November 21at No. 10 USCNo. 15
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)
ABCL 21–2289,432
December 31vs. No. 16 Michigan*No. 19L 14–3350,107
  • *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
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Season summary

At USC

#15 UCLA Bruins (7–2–1) at #10 USC Trojans (8–2)
Period 1 2 34Total
UCLA 7 11 3021
USC 3 9 01022

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

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
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

[3]

References

  1. ^ "1981 UCLA Bruins Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  2. ^ "1981 UCLA Bruins Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  3. ^ "1982 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
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