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1981 UCLA Bruins football
1981 UCLA Bruins football
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, L 14–33 vs. Michigan
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Record	7–4–1 (5–2–1 Pac-10)
Head coach	Terry Donahue (6th season);
Offensive coordinator	Homer Smith (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Jed Hughes (5th season)
Home stadium	Los 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

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	at Arizona	No. 12	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ		W 35–18	49,311	^[3]
September 19	at No. 20 Wisconsin*	No. 9	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 31–13	69,212	^[4]
September 26	at Iowa*	No. 6	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	KTLA	L 7–20	60,004	^[5]
October 3	Colorado*	No. 16	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 27–7	40,347	^[6]
October 10	at Stanford	No. 17	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA		L 23–26	70,103	^[7]
October 17	at No. 18 Washington State		Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	ABC	T 17–17	40,000	^[8]
October 24	California		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 34–6	41,637	^[9]
October 31	at Oregon		Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR		W 28–11	24,272	^[10]
November 7	No. 16 Washington		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 31–0	41,818	^[11]
November 14	No. 9 Arizona State	No. 18	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 34–24	47,361	^[12]
November 21	at No. 10 USC	No. 15	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	ABC	L 21–22	89,432	^[13]
December 31	vs. No. 16 Michigan*	No. 19	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)		L 14–33	50,107	^[14]
*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

Terry Donahue

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

^[15]

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

^[16]

References

^ "1981 UCLA Bruins Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
^ "1981 UCLA Bruins Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
^ "Bruins hold off Arizona". The Daily Breeze. September 13, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bruins start quick; dump Badgers". Herald-Times-Reporter. September 20, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Hawkeyes stun UCLA". The Sioux City Journal. September 27, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "UCLA coasts to win". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. October 4, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Stanford outlasts UCLA 26–23 in Pac-10 action". The Idaho Statesman. October 11, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "WSU still unbeaten, but UCLA gains tie". The Columbian. October 18, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "UCLA swamps Cal 34–6". The Palm Beach Post. October 25, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Andrews leads UCLA". The Daily Breeze. November 1, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "UCLA dims Huskies' Rose Bowl ambitions". Tri-City Herald. November 8, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bruins rally, tip ASU". The Sunday Oregonian. November 15, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Blocked field goal costs UCLA". Statesman Journal. November 22, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "U-M bops Bruins' bonnets". Detroit Free Press. January 1, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1981 UCLA Bruins Roster". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
^ "1982 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.