The 1975 UCLA Bruins football team represented the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

in the

1975 NCAA Division I football season The 1975 NCAA Division I football season saw University of Oklahoma repeat as national champion in the Associated Press (AP) writers' poll, and were ranked No. 1 in the United Press International (UPI) coaches' poll, just ahead of runner up Arizon ...

. Led by second-year head coach

Dick Vermeil Richard Albert Vermeil (; born October 30, 1936) is a former American football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons, the St. Lou ...

, the Bruins won their first Pacific-8 championship in a decade and were 8–2–1 in the regular season. On New Year's Day, UCLA upset previously undefeated and top-ranked

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

in the Rose Bowl and climbed to fifth in the final rankings.

Regular season

Coming off an injury-plagued

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

season at 6–3–2, UCLA began the season ranked #16. A season-opening 37–21 win over

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

in the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...

saw them move up to twelfth; this was followed by a 34–28 win over #10

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. But they stumbled in a turnover-plagued 20–20 tie at

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

; second-ranked Ohio State traveled west and handed UCLA its first loss of the season, on October 4. After the game, head coach

Woody Hayes Wayne Woodrow Hayes (February 14, 1913 – March 12, 1987) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Denison University (1946–1948), Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (1949–1950), and Ohio State University (1951 ...

prophetically told his team that they would be facing UCLA again in the Rose Bowl. UCLA was the only opponent to score more than 14 points in a game all season against Ohio State, and they did it twice. The Ohio State loss dropped the Bruins out of the top 20, but they returned to #13 after wins over

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, and a key win over

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. But another loss, this time to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

17–13, dropped them back out of the top 20 and resulted in a five-way tie at the top of the Pac-8 between UCLA, California, Stanford,

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

, and Washington. After a pair of wins over the Oregon schools, the Bruins went into their season-ending game against

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

USC needing a win to go to the Rose Bowl; a loss or tie would send California to Pasadena. Despite fumbling 11 times and losing 8, UCLA beat the Trojans 25–22. UCLA ended up tied with California for the Pac-8 championship, but advanced to the Rose Bowl on the strength of their 28–14 win over the Golden Bears. The Bruins went into the Rose Bowl ranked #11. Ironically, the 1975 USC-UCLA game was legendary coach John McKay and Vermeil's final game at the Coliseum. It was the only

bowl A bowl is a typically round dish or container generally used for preparing, serving, or consuming food. The interior of a bowl is characteristically shaped like a spherical cap, with the edges and the bottom forming a seamless curve. This makes ...

appearance for Vermeil in his two seasons at UCLA; a month later he left for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

Schedule

Game summaries

Ohio State

1st quarter scoring: UCLA – James Sarpy 13-yard pass from

John Sciarra John Michael Sciarra (born March 2, 1954) is a former professional American football safety in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1978 to 1983. He also played receiver for the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Fo ...

(Brett White kick); OSU – Greene 2-yard run (Klaban kick) 2nd quarter scoring: OSU – Johnson 3-yard run (Klaban kick); OSU – Johnson 2-yard run (Klaban kick); OSU – Greene 17-yard run (Klaban kick) 3rd quarter scoring: OSU – A. Griffin 17-yard run (Klaban kick); OSU – Klaban 34-yard field goal; UCLA – Eddie Ayers 2-yard run (White kick) 4th quarter scoring: UCLA – Ayers 1-yard run (kick failed); OSU – Klaban 42-yard field goal

Ohio State (Rose Bowl)

1st quarter scoring: Ohio State – Tom Klaban 42-yard field goal 2nd quarter scoring: No score 3rd quarter scoring: UCLA – Brett White 33-yard field goal; UCLA –

Wally Henry Wallace "Wally" Henry (born October 30, 1954) is a former professional American football wide receiver. He played in the National Football League for six seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles. He went to the Pro Bowl after the 1979 season as a ...

16-yard pass from John Sciarra (White kick failed); UCLA – Henry 67-yard pass from Sciarra (White kick) 4th quarter scoring: Ohio State – Pete Johnson 3-yard run (Klaban kick); UCLA –

Wendell Tyler Wendell Avery Tyler (born May 20, 1955) is a former professional American football player who was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 3rd round of the 1977 NFL Draft. A 5'10", 198 lbs. running back from UCLA, Tyler played in 10 NFL seaso ...

54-yard run (White kick)

Players and coaches

Roster

34 returning lettermen from Coach Dick Vermeil's first team that was 6–3–2 in 1974.

Offense

* 89 Norm Andersen, SE * 70 Gus Coppens LT * 73 Phil McKinnely, LG * 62 Mitch Kahn, C * 51

Randy Cross Randall Laureat Cross (born April 25, 1954) is an American football analyst and former player. He was a right guard and center in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was inducted into the Colle ...

, RG * 75 Jack DeMartinis, RT * 7

Rick Walker Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

, TE * 15

QB * 22

, LHB * 30 Eddie Ayers, RHB * 8

, FL

Defense

* 42 Jeff Smith, S * 68 Tim Tennigkeit, LT * 56 Terry Tautolo, ILB * 59 Pete Pele, NG * Kelly Stroich, ILB * 90 Bob Crawford, RT * 83 Dale Curry, OLB * 87 Raymond Burks, OLB * 29 Barney Person, LCB * 21 Oscar Edwards, RCB * Matt Fahl, S * 88 Pat Schmidt, S * 82 John Terando DB

Specialists

* 34 Brett White, PK * 6 John Sullivan, P

Coaches

, head coach *

Lynn Stiles Lynn George Stiles (born April 12, 1941) is a former American football player, coach, and executive. He served as the head football coach at San Jose State Spartans football, San Jose State University from 1976 to 1978, compiling a record of 18– ...

, assistant head coach/defensive coordinator *

Jim Criner Jim Criner (born March 30, 1940) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Boise State University from 1976 to 1982 and at Iowa State University from 1983 to 1986, compiling a career record of as a college footbal ...

, linebackers/tight ends *

Terry Donahue Terrence Michael Donahue (June 24, 1944 – July 4, 2021) was an American football coach and executive. He served as the head coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1976 to 1995, compiling a record of 151–74–8. His 15 ...

, offensive line *

Rod Dowhower Rodney Douglas Dowhower (born April 15, 1943) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Stanford Cardinal football, Stanford University and Vanderbilt Commodores football, Vanderbilt University; in between he was the ...

, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks/wide receivers * Jerry Long, offensive line/defensive line * Billie Matthews, running backs * Bill McPherson, defensive line *

Carl Peterson Carl D. Peterson (born May 26, 1943) For more than 50 years, Carl Peterson was a creative force in the world of American Football, starting at the high school level, through small college ball, to major college football, and on to professional fo ...

, wide receivers/tight ends *

Dick Tomey Richard Hastings Tomey (June 20, 1938 – May 10, 2019) was an American football coach and player. Tomey served as the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (1977–1986), University of Arizona (1987–2000), and San Jose State ...

, defensive backs * Mike Flores, graduate assistant

Awards and honors

* John Sciarra, QB, All-Conference, NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship, ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All America, National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Scholarship, NCAA Top Eight Award, inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

(2014) * Randy Cross, G, All-Conference, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (2010) * Fulton Kuykendall, LB, All-Conference * Head coach Dick Vermeil will be inducted into the

Rose Bowl Hall of Fame The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 (New Year's Day) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2. The Rose ...

as a member of the Class of 2014. * Barney Person, CB, Lead nation & UCLA in interceptions, made key Rose Bowl interception

1975 team players in the NFL

The following players were claimed in the

1975 NFL Draft The 1975 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartko ...

. The following players were claimed in the

1976 NFL Draft The 1976 National Football League draft was an annual player selection meeting held April 8–9, 1976, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York. The draft lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks m ...

. The following player was claimed in the

1977 NFL Draft The 1977 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1977, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...

References

External links

Sports Reference
- 1975 UCLA football season {{Pac-12 Conference football champions

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

UCLA Bruins football seasons Pac-12 Conference football champion seasons Rose Bowl champion seasons UCLA Bruins footbal

UCLA Bruins football The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles, in college football as members of the Pac-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Bruins play their home games at the ...