Surf Wiki
Save to docs
sports

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

1965 UCLA Bruins football team

American college football season

American college football season

FieldValue
year1965
teamUCLA Bruins
sportfootball
conferenceAthletic Association of Western Universities
short_confAAWU
CoachRank5
APRank4
record8–2–1
conf_record4–0
head_coachTommy Prothro
hc_year1st
stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
championAAWU champion
Rose Bowl champion
bowl[Rose Bowl](1966-rose-bowl)
bowl_resultW 14–12 vs. [Michigan State](1965-michigan-state-spartans-football-team)

Rose Bowl champion 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.

In the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day, UCLA upset top-ranked and undefeated Michigan State, 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.

The Bruins lost their season opening game 13–3 at Michigan State,

Ranked seventh entering the rivalry game with #6 USC on November 20, with the conference championship and a Rose Bowl berth on the line. The Trojans, with Heisman Trophy 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 in the newly-built Liberty Bowl stadium 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."

Schedule

|{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = l |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = t |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = l |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w

Game summaries

USC

Michigan State (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, 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."

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

Team statsUCLAMichigan St.
First downs1013
Net Yards Rushing65204
Net Yards Passing147110
Total Yards212314
PC–PA–Int.8–20–08–22–3
Punts–Avg.11–39.95–42.4
Fumbles–Lost3–23–2
Penalties–Yards9–861–14

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)

References

References

  1. (December 21, 1964). "Barnes quits before UCLA has chance to fire him". Eugene Register-Guard.
  2. (January 12, 1965). "Tom Prothro joins Bruins". Spokesman-Review.
  3. (January 12, 1965). "Prothro selected by UCLA as head football coach". Lodi News-Sentinel.
  4. (January 12, 1965). "Prothro leaving Oregon State for UCLA coaching job". Eugene Register-Guard.
  5. [http://www.uclabruins.com/fls/30500/pdf/FB_HistoryI_13.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=30500 2013 UCLA Football Media Guide], UCLA, 2013
  6. Myers, Bob. (January 2, 1966). "UCLA Bruins drop 'Beban bomb'". Spokesman-Review.
  7. Uhrhammer, Jerry. (January 2, 1966). "UCLA beats Spartans (and the experts), 14-12". Eugene Register-Guard.
  8. (September 19, 1965). "MSU continues hex on Bruins". Spokesman-review.
  9. (October 3, 1965). "UCLA edges Penn State in 24-22 grid battle". reading Eagle.
  10. (October 10, 1965). "UCLA, 24-14". Eugene Register-Guard.
  11. (November 21, 1965). "Beban's arm gives Prothro another Rose Bowl chance". Eugene Register-Guard.
  12. (December 5, 1965). "Tennessee upsets Pasadena-bound Bruins, 37–34". Eugene Register-Guard.
  13. (October 3, 1965). "UCLA stops Penn State's late rush". Chicago Tribune.
  14. (October 10, 1965). "Bruins' explosive start surprises Syracuse, 24–14". The Los Angeles Times.
  15. (October 17, 1965). "Bruins foiled, 14–14, by long Missouri runs". The Los Angeles Times.
  16. (October 24, 1965). "UCLA whips California, 56–3". The Eugene Register-Guard.
  17. (October 31, 1965). "UCLA fumbles eight times but shuts out Air Force, 10–0". The Washington Post.
  18. (November 7, 1965). "UCLA, 28–24". The Eugene Register-Guard.
  19. (November 14, 1965). "UCLA, 30–13". The Eugene Register-Guard.
  20. (November 14, 1965). "Bruins stay ib road to Rose Bowl". The Los Angeles Times.
  21. . ["Schedule/Results (1965 UCLA)"](https://stats.ncaa.org/teams/250864). *[[National Collegiate Athletic Association]]*.
  22. "2015 UCLA Bruins Football Media Guide Year-by-Year Results".
  23. 1975 UCLA Media Guide, UCLA Athletic News Bureau, 1975
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1965-athletic-association-of-western-universities-football-season ucla-bruins-football-seasons pac-12-conference-football-champion-seasons rose-bowl-champion-seasons 1965-in-sports-in-california 1965-in-los-angeles
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about 1965 UCLA Bruins football team — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report