Personnel
| 1966 UCLA Bruins football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
| Defense
| Special teams
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- Source: [24]
| 1966 UCLA Bruins football | |
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| Conference | Athletic Association of Western Universities |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 5 |
| AP | No. 5 |
| Record | 9–1 (3–1 AAWU) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC $ | 4 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5 UCLA | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 2 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 1 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1966 UCLA Bruins football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU/Pac-8) during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. In their second year under head coach Tommy Prothro, the Bruins compiled a 9–1 record (3–1 AAWU, second), and were ranked fifth in the final AP Poll. [1]
UCLA's offensive leaders in 1966 were quarterback Gary Beban with 1,245 passing yards, running back Mel Farr with 809 rushing yards, and Harold Busby with 474 receiving yards. [2]
Heading into the final game of the regular season against rival USC, UCLA was 2–1 in conference, 8–1 overall, and ranked fifth in the country. Featuring a "dream backfield" of All-Americans Beban and Farr, the Bruins lost only one game, at Washington in rainy Seattle, [3] where Huskies' head coach Jim Owens had devoted his entire season to beating Prothro. UCLA had beaten UW the season before, 28–24, with Prothro's trick play, the Z-streak in which a receiver trots towards the sideline like he's going out of the game and then runs a streak pattern unguarded by the inattentive defender. USC was 4–0 in conference and 7–1 overall, upset on the road by the unranked Miami Hurricanes in late October. The Bruins and Trojans played a different number of conference games due to uneven scheduling caused by the newer AAWU members and schedules made years in advance (neither played Oregon or Washington State; USC shut out Oregon State). It was widely assumed that only losses would be considered and the winner of the UCLA-USC game would earn the Rose Bowl berth.
Beban broke his ankle the week before in the 10–0 home win over Stanford, [4] [5] but backup Norman Dow, making his only start at quarterback, led UCLA to a 14–7 win over the Trojans. [6] [7] [8] That left USC with a 4–1 conference record (7–2 overall) and #5 UCLA with a 3–1 conference record (9–1) overall. Due to their win over USC, it was widely assumed UCLA would get the Rose Bowl berth. However, a vote the next Monday among the AAWU conference athletic directors awarded USC the Rose Bowl berth. [9] [10] [11] It was speculated that the directors believed Beban could not play for UCLA in the Rose Bowl due to the broken ankle, thereby giving the Big Ten Conference representative, Purdue, a better chance to win. As it turned out, Beban could have played, but a bigger reason was that this was to make up for 1964 when Oregon State was voted in ahead of USC; the head coach of Oregon State that year was Prothro. Another speculation was the vote was against UCLA out of pure jealousy by the rest of the conference, which voted 7–1 for the clearly inferior team.
This vote deprived Prothro of being the first head coach to earn three consecutive Rose Bowl berths and UCLA athletic director J. D. Morgan called it a "gross injustice" and the "a dark day in UCLA and AAWU athletic history." Inflamed UCLA students who had gathered for the Rose Bowl celebration rally, took to the streets of Westwood in protest and actually blocked the 405 Freeway for a short time. [12] Ironically, Morgan was the force behind establishing a tie-breaking method adopted by the conference one year later in which only loss column counted; the first tiebreaker was head-to-head results, followed by overall record. If there was still a tie, the Rose Bowl berth would go to the team that had not played in the Rose Bowl the longest. But it was too late for UCLA. In their final regular season game the next week, USC made the AAWU decision look bad by getting routed 51–0 at home in the L.A. Coliseum by #1 Notre Dame; [13] they lost 14–13 to #7 Purdue in the Rose Bowl on January 2 and finished at 7–4. [14] [15] [16]
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 17 | Pittsburgh * | No. 4 | W 57–14 | 35,692 | [17] | |
| September 24 | at Syracuse * | No. 2 | W 31–12 | 35,000 | [18] | |
| October 1 | Missouri * | No. 2 |
| W 24–15 | 32,649 | [19] |
| October 8 | at Rice * | No. 2 | W 27–24 | 33,000 | [20] | |
| October 15 | Penn State * | No. 4 |
| W 49–11 | 37,271 | |
| October 22 | at California | No. 3 | W 28–15 | 54,000 | ||
| October 29 | Air Force * | No. 3 |
| W 38–13 | 34,654 | [21] |
| November 5 | at Washington | No. 3 | L 3–16 | 55,536 | [3] | |
| November 12 | Stanford | No. 8 |
| W 10–0 | 45,290 | [4] [22] |
| November 19 | No. 7 USC | No. 8 |
| W 14–7 | 81,980 | [6] |
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| 1966 UCLA Bruins football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
| Defense
| Special teams
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Gary Joseph Beban is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons with the Washington Redskins. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, where he won both the Maxwell Award and the Heisman Trophy in 1967. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988.
James Thompson Prothro Jr. was an American football coach and player. 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, compiling a career college football record of 104–55–5 (.649).
The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles, in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Bruins play their home games off campus at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
William F. Barnes was an American college football player and coach. He was the head football coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1958 to 1964. Barnes guided his UCLA Bruins teams to a 31–34–3 (.478) record, including two seven-win seasons in 1960 and 1961 and an appearance in the 1962 Rose Bowl.
The 1967 UCLA vs. USC football game was an American college football game played during the 1967 NCAA University Division football season on November 18, 1967. The UCLA Bruins, 7–0–1 and ranked No. 1, with senior quarterback Gary Beban as a Heisman Trophy candidate, played the USC Trojans, 8–1 and ranked No. 4, with junior running back O. J. Simpson also as a Heisman candidate. This game is widely regarded as the signature game in the UCLA–USC rivalry as well as one of the 20th-century Games of the Century. The 64-yard run by Simpson for the winning touchdown is regarded as one of the greatest run plays in college football.
The 1989 Rose Bowl was the 75th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Monday, January 2. This year marked the 100th anniversary of the Tournament of Roses parade. The Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference upset the fifth-ranked USC Trojans of the Pacific-10 Conference, 22–14. Down by 11 points at halftime, the Wolverines shut out the Trojans in the second half and won by eight. Michigan fullback Leroy Hoard was named the Player of the Game.
The 1967 NCAA University Division football season was the last one in which college football's champion was crowned before the bowl games. 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 and now as the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
The 1976 Rose Bowl was the 62nd edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Thursday, January 1. The UCLA Bruins of the Pacific-8 Conference defeated the top-ranked and undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference 23–10 in a rare bowl rematch of a regular season game. UCLA quarterback John Sciarra was named the Player of the Game.
The 1966 Rose Bowl was the 52nd edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Saturday, January 1. The fifth-ranked UCLA Bruins of the AAWU (Pac-8) upset the undefeated and top-ranked Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference, 14–12. UCLA defensive back Bob Stiles, a junior college transfer, was named the Player of the Game.
The 1967 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1967 NCAA University Division football season. In their eighth year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 10–1 record, won the Athletic Association of Western Universities championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 258 to 87. The team was ranked #1 in the final AP and Coaches Polls.
The 1975 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. Led by second-year head coach Dick Vermeil, 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 in the Rose Bowl and climbed to fifth in the final rankings.
The 1970 Rose Bowl was the 56th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Thursday, January 1. The USC Trojans, champions of the Pacific-8 Conference, defeated the Michigan Wolverines, champions of the Big Ten Conference, 10–3. USC flanker Bob Chandler scored the only touchdown and was named the Player of the Game.
The 1968 Rose Bowl was the 54th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Monday, January 1. The USC Trojans of the Pacific-8 Conference defeated the Indiana Hoosiers of the Big Ten Conference, 14–3. USC tailback O. J. Simpson was named the Player of the Game.
The 1967 Rose Bowl was the 53rd edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Monday, January 2nd, 1967. The game was played between the Purdue Boilermakers of the Big Ten Conference and the USC Trojans of the AAWU. A total of 101,438 people attended the game. Purdue won 14−13.
The 1959 Washington Huskies football team represented the University of Washington during the 1959 college football season. Home games were played on campus in Seattle at Husky Stadium.
The 1965 UCLA Bruins football team represented University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the 1965 NCAA University Division football season. The team was led by first-year head coach Tommy Prothro, who succeeded William F. Barnes, Under sophomore quarterback Gary Beban, the team finished the regular season with a 8–2–1 record and the AAWU (Pac-8) conference championship.
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 and finished in a tie for fifth place in the Pacific-8 Conference.
The 1969 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as a member of the Pacific-8 Conference during the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Tommy Prothro, the Bruins compiled an overall record of 8–1–1 with a mark of 5–1–1 in conference play, tying for second place in the Pac-8. UCLA played home game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.
The 1966 All-Pacific-8 Conference football team consists of American football players chosen by the Associated Press (AP), the United Press International (UPI), and the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) coaches (Coaches) as the best college football players by position in the Pac-8 during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season.
The 1964 UCLA Bruins football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1964 NCAA University Division football season. In their seventh and final year under head coach Bill Barnes, the Bruins compiled a 4–6 record and finished in fourth place in the Athletic Association of Western Universities.