1953 UCLA Bruins football team

1953 UCLA Bruins football
PCC champion
Rose Bowl, L 20–28 vs. Michigan State
Conference Pacific Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. 4
AP No. 5
1953 record 8–2 (6–1 PCC)
Head coach Henry Russell Sanders (5th year)
Offensive scheme Single wing
Home stadium Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
1953 PCC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#5 UCLA $ 6 – 1 – 0     8 – 2 – 0
#19 Stanford 5 – 1 – 1     6 – 3 – 1
USC 4 – 2 – 1     6 – 3 – 1
California 2 – 2 – 2     4 – 4 – 2
Washington State 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 0
Oregon State 3 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0
Washington 2 – 4 – 1     3 – 6 – 1
Oregon 2 – 5 – 1     4 – 5 – 1
Idaho 0 – 3 – 0     1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1953 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the 1953 college football season. They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and were coached by Henry Russell Sanders. It was Sanders' fifth season as the UCLA head coach. The team completed the season with a 8–2 record and was the Pacific Coast Conference champion. They played in the 1954 Rose Bowl and were defeated by eighth-ranked Michigan State, 28–20. The Bruins finished ranked fourth in the Coaches Poll and fifth in the AP Poll.[1]

Previous season

The Bruins finished the 1952 season in second place in the Pacific Coast Conference with a record of 8–1. They were ranked in sixth place in both AP and UPI final polls.

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
9/18 Oregon State No. 4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 41–0    
9/25 Kansas* No. 4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 19–7    
10/3 at Oregon No. 5 Portland, OR W 12–0    
10/9 Wisconsin* No. 6 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 13–0   52,887
10/17 at No. Stanford  No. 4 Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA L 20–21    
10/24 Washington State No. 12 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 44–7    
10/31 California No. 10 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 20–7    
11/14 Washington No. 7 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 22–6    
11/21 at No. 9 USC No. 5 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 13–0    
1/1 vs. No. 9 Michigan State No. 5 Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) NBC L 20–28   100,500
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Pacific Time.

Game notes

USC

1 2 3 4 Total
UCLA 0 7 0 6 13
USC 0 0 0 0 0

By winning this game, the Bruins were the PCC Champions and received the Rose Bowl bid. California assisted with a 21–21 tie with Stanford. Bob Heydenfeldt and Paul Cameron scored in the second and fourth quarter respectively.

Michigan State (Rose Bowl)

1 2 3 4 Total
MSU 0 7 14 7 28
UCLA 7 7 0 6 20
Main article: 1954 Rose Bowl

This was the first meeting between the two schools. It was the first Rose Bowl appearance for the Spartans. They had previously only played in the 1938 Orange Bowl. It was the third bowl appearance for the Bruins. The weather was sunny. The Spartans wore their green home jerseys and the Bruins wore their white road jerseys.

The Spartans fumbled twice in the first half, which allowed the Bruins the first two scores. Michigan State had only one completed pass and 56 yards in the first half. The Spartans scored a touchdown with 4:45 remaining in the first half.

Victor Postula knocked down four Bruin passes. Coach Biggie Munn instituted a "split line offense" against the Bruins.[2]

The Spartans assembled two long drives in the third quarter to pull ahead 21–-14. The Bruins recovered another Spartan fumble and scored to make the score 21-20. But the extra point kick failed. Billy Wells of Michigan State returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown with 4:51 left in the game.

First quarter scoring

Second quarter scoring

Third quarter scoring

Fourth quarter scoring

Awards and honors

References

  1. ↑ 2014 UCLA Bruins Football Media Guide (p108), UCLA Athletics Department, August 2014
  2. ↑ Richmond, Jim - Postula family traveled long road to America. Battle Creek Enquirer, September 5, 2005
  3. ↑ 1975 UCLA Media Guide, UCLA Athletic News Bureau, 1975
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