1968 UCLA Bruins football team

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]

1968 UCLA Bruins football
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
1968 record	3–7 (2–4 Pac-8)
Head coach	Tommy Prothro (4th season)
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

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

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 what was acknowledged to be a rebuilding year, the Bruins opened the 1968 season with a 63–7 defeat of Pittsburgh and a win over Washington State. The season ground to a halt at Syracuse and with the season-ending injury of quarterback Billy Bolden, and UCLA would win only one more game, over Stanford 20–17. The Bruins gave #1 USC and Heisman Trophy winner O. J. Simpson a scare in a 28–16 loss; UCLA trailed 21–16 late in the fourth quarter and had the ball inside USC's 10-yard line, but USC recovered a fumble and then used almost all of the remaining time in driving for their insurance touchdown.

Schedule

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

Source:[9]

Roster

1968 UCLA Bruins football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 88 Ron Copeland WR 85 George Farmer RB 43 Greg Jones	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 57 Mike Ballou DT 93 Ken Geddes	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 7 Zenon Andrusyshyn	Head coach Tommy Prothro Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

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. "U.C.L.A. TROUNCES PITTSBURGH, 63-7". New York Times. 22 September 1968.
4. McGowen, Deane (6 October 1968). "SYRACUSE UPSETS U.C.L.A. SQUAD, 20-7". New York Times.
5. Becker, Bill (13 October 1968). "Penn state subdues U.C.L.A. by 21 to 6 for fourth straight". New York Times.
6. Prugh, J. (20 October 1968). "Bruins wallow in misery as cal wins, 39-15". Los Angeles Times.
7. "U.C.L.A. SETS BACK STANFORD, 20-17". New York Times. 27 October 1968.
8. Prugh, J. (3 November 1968). "Vols demolish bruins with air blitz, 42-18". Los Angeles Times.
9. "2015 UCLA Bruins Football Media Guide Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). Retrieved December 19, 2016.