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1972 UCLA Bruins football
1972 UCLA Bruins football
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. T–17
AP	No. 15
Record	8–3 (5–2 Pac-8)
Head coach	Pepper Rodgers (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Homer Smith (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
	Seasons ← 1971 1973 →

1972 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 USC $	7	–	0	–	0	12	–	0	–	0
No. 15 UCLA	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
No. 19 Washington State	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Washington	4	–	3	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
California	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Oregon	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Stanford	2	–	5	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Oregon State	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 UCLA Bruins football team represented University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Members of the Pacific-8 Conference, the Bruins were led by second-year head coach Pepper Rodgers and played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The new quarterback this season was Mark Harmon, a junior college transfer and son of Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon.^[1]^[2] In his first game for the Bruins, Harmon led the wishbone offense and gained a late night upset of top-ranked Nebraska at the Coliseum. An 18-point underdog, UCLA was never behind; Nebraska had five turnovers but fought back to tie the score before halftime at ten and again early in the fourth quarter at seventeen. In their final drive, Harmon drove UCLA into field goal range and Efrén Herrera made a 29-yarder in the final half minute for the 20–17 win.^[1]^[2] It halted the two-time defending national champion Huskers' unbeaten streak at 32 games and vaulted the previously unranked Bruins (2–7–1 in 1971) to eighth in the AP Poll, as Nebraska slid to tenth.^[3]

Two weeks later, the Bruins lost at home to Michigan, but then won six straight and improved to 8–1 overall. An upset loss to Washington at Husky Stadium in Seattle and an expected one to top-ranked rival USC in the Coliseum ended UCLA's season at 8–3.^[4]^[5] The Pac-8 runner-up at 5–2, they were ranked fifteenth in the final AP poll;^[6] the conference did not allow a second bowl team until the 1975 season.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	No. 1 Nebraska*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 20–17	67,702	^[1]^[2]
September 16	at Pittsburgh*	No. 8	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	W 38–28	24,315	^[7]
September 23	No. 12 Michigan*	No. 6	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 9–26	57,129	^[8]
September 29	Oregon	No. 15	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 65–20	30,309	^[9]^[10]
October 7	Arizona*	No. 14	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 42–31	27,321	^[11]
October 14	at Oregon State	No. 14	Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	W 37–7	23,109	^[12]
October 21	at California	No. 11	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 49–13	33,000	^[13]
October 28	Washington State	No. 9	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 35–20	29,950	^[14]
November 4	Stanford	No. 8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 28–23	47,276	^[15]
November 11	at Washington	No. 8	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 21–30	59,500	^[16]
November 18	vs. No. 1 USC	No. 14	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	L 7–24	59,151	^[4]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1972 UCLA Bruins football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
G	`65`	Brian Goodman	Sr
QB	`7`	Mark Harmon	Jr
WR	`82`	Brad Lyman	Sr
RB	`32`	James McAlister	Jr
QB	`15`	John Sciarra	Fr
RB	`21`	Rob Scribner	Sr
OT	`74`	Bruce Walton	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`20`	Jimmy Allen	Jr
FS	`24`	Jim Bright	Jr
DB	`29`	Alan Ellis	Sr
DB	`22`	Mike Fryer	Jr
DE	`92`	Fred McNeill	Jr
DE	`90`	Cal Peterson	Jr
DT	`66`	Bill Sandifer	Jr
LB	`8`	Jack Jorgensen	So
LB	`56`	Terry Tautolo	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P	`44`	Bruce Barnes	So
K	`1`	Efrén Herrera	Jr

Head coach

Pepper Rodgers

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Awards and honors

All-Conference First Team: Bruce Barnes (P), Allan Ellis (DB), Kermit Johnson (RB), Steve Klosterman (OG), James McAlister (RB), Fred McNeill (DE), Bruce Walton (OT)^[17]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Jenkins, Dan (September 18, 1972). "Young Harmon makes his mark". Sports Illustrated. p. 32.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bruins upend Cornhuskers on Herrera's field goal, 20-17". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 10, 1972. p. 3C.
^ "USC vaults into lead; UCLA 8th". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 10, 1972. p. 1C.
^ ^a ^b "Trojans roll past Bruins, 24-7". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 19, 1972. p. 5B.
^ 2013 UCLA Football Media Guide, UCLA, 2013
^ Nissenson, Herschel (January 3, 1973). "It's official: Trojans No. 1 grid team". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. p. 48.
^ "Bruins use strong start to down Pitt, 38-28". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). New York Times news service. September 17, 1972. p. 1B.
^ "Michigan grinds out victory over Bruins". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 24, 1972. p. 2B.
^ Cawood, Neil (September 30, 1972). "Bruins roll past defenseless Webfoots, 65-20". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
^ "UCLA swamps Ducks". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 30, 1972. p. 14.
^ "UCLA explodes for 2 late TDs to whip Arizona 42–31". The Tacoma News Tribune. October 8, 1972. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "It's 37-7 for Bruins". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 15, 1972. p. 2, sports.
^ "Johnson paces Bruins, 49-13". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 22, 1972. p. 4C.
^ "Bruins stay perfect in Pacific-8 chase". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 29, 1972. p. 4C.
^ "Bruins rally, trip Stanford". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 5, 1972. p. 5D.
^ "Huskies surprise UCLA". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 12, 1972. p. 2C.
^ 1975 UCLA Media Guide, UCLA Athletic News Bureau, 1975