The 1965 UCLA Bruins football team represented

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 Californ ...

(UCLA) in the

1965 NCAA University Division football season During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the major college football teams in the University Division, later known as Division I-A. The NCAA did recognize a national champion based upon the final results of "wire service" (AP and UPI) ...

. The team was led by first-year head coach

Tommy Prothro James Thompson "Tommy" Prothro Jr. (July 20, 1920 – May 14, 1995) was an American football coach. He was the head coach at Oregon State University from 1955 to 1964 and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1965 to 1970, compil ...

, who succeeded Bill Barnes, Under sophomore

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...

Gary Beban, the team finished the regular season with a 7–2–1 record and the AAWU (Pac-8) conference championship. In the Rose Bowl on

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Whi ...

, UCLA upset top-ranked and undefeated

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

, who had beaten them in the season opener in September. The Bruins finished at 8–2–1, were fourth in the final AP Poll, and outscored their opponents 257 to 168. Hired in January, Prothro was previously the head coach at Oregon State for ten seasons and a former UCLA assistant.

Regular season

The Bruins lost their season opening game 13–3 at

, who then rose to become a top-ranked team in the country. The unheralded Bruins went on a seven-game undefeated streak, surprising eastern national powers like Penn State and

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy * Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

. Ranked seventh entering the rivalry game with #6

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 ...

on November 20, with the conference championship and a Rose Bowl berth on the line. The Trojans, with

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and har ...

winner Mike Garrett, led 16–6 until UCLA got a touchdown on a pass from Gary Beban to Dick Witcher with four minutes to play. After the two-point conversion made it 16–14, UCLA recovered an onside kick. Beban then hit Kurt Altenberg on a fifty-yard bomb and the Bruins prevailed, 20–16. Two weeks later, integrated #5 UCLA then faced all-white #7

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

in the newly-built

Liberty Bowl stadium Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (originally named Memphis Memorial Stadium, and later Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium) is a football stadium located at the former Mid-South Fairgrounds in the Midtown area of Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The s ...

in Memphis, Prothro's native city. On the last play of the game, Tennessee defensive back Bob Petrella intercepted a UCLA pass to save a 37–34 Volunteer win. Tennessee's winning drive was aided by a controversial pass interference call, the clock had questionably stopped twice, and a dropped pass that appeared to be a lateral was recovered by UCLA but was later ruled an incomplete forward pass. After the game, Prothro stated, "For the first time in my life, I am ashamed to be a Southerner."

Rose Bowl

The fifth-ranked Bruins went to the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day as a 14½-point underdog in a rematch with undefeated and #1 ranked powerhouse Michigan State. UCLA, now dubbed "The Miracle Bruins" by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

'', vanquished the heavily-favored Spartans 14–12. That victory gave UCLA an 8–2–1 mark, prevented the Spartans from winning the AP title, and resulted in Prothro earning Coach of the Year accolades from his coaching colleagues. UCLA finished fourth, and due to their small size, earned the moniker "Gutty little Bruins."

Schedule

Game summaries

USC

Michigan State (Rose Bowl)

1st quarter scoring: No scoring 2nd quarter scoring: UCLA — Gary Beban 1-yard run (Kurt Zimmerman kick); UCLA — Beban 1-yard run (Zimmerman kick) 3rd quarter scoring: No scoring 4th quarter scoring: MSU — Bob Apisa 38-yard run (Jimmy Raye pass fail); MSU — Juday 1-yard run (Apisa run fail)

Statistics

Awards and honors

* All-Coast/Conference First Team: Kurt Altenberg (E), Russ Banducci (T), Gary Beban (QB), Jim Colletto (E), Mel Farr (H), John Richardson (G), Bob Stiles (H)1975 UCLA Media Guide, UCLA Athletic News Bureau, 1975

References

{{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 ...

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

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 ...