1983 UCLA Bruins football team

The 1983 UCLA Bruins football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their eighth year under head coach Terry Donahue, the Bruins compiled a 7–4–1 record (6–1–1 Pac-10), finished in first place in the Pacific-10 Conference, and were ranked #17 in the final AP Poll. The Bruins went on to defeat Illinois in the 1984 Rose Bowl.[1] The Bruins began the season 0–3–1 before winning seven of their final eight games of the season.

1983 UCLA Bruins football
Pac-10 champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 45–9 vs. Illinois
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 13
APNo. 17
Record7–4–1 (6–1–1 Pac-10)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorHomer Smith (6th season)
Co-defensive coordinatorBob Field (2nd season)
Co-defensive coordinatorTom Hayes (2nd season)
Home stadiumRose Bowl
Seasons
← 1982
1984 →
1983 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 17 UCLA $ 6 1 1 7 4 1
Washington 5 2 0 8 4 0
Washington State 5 3 0 7 4 0
USC 4 3 0 4 6 1
Arizona 4 3 1 7 3 1
Arizona State 3 3 1 6 4 1
Oregon 3 3 1 4 6 1
California 3 4 1 5 5 1
Oregon State 1 6 1 2 8 1
Stanford 1 7 0 1 10 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

UCLA's offensive leaders in 1983 were quarterback Rick Neuheisel with 2,245 passing yards, running back Kevin Nelson with 898 rushing yards, and wide receiver Mike Sherrard with 709 receiving yards.[2] Neuheisel was selected as the 1984 Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player.

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 3at No. 15 Georgia*No. 20ABCL 8–1982,122[3]
September 17Arizona StateCBST 26–2647,093
September 24at No. 1 Nebraska*L 10–4276,510
October 1BYU*
  • Rose Bowl
  • Pasadena, CA
MetroL 35–3750,044
October 8at StanfordW 39–2155,804
October 15at Washington StateW 24–1430,000
October 22California
  • Rose Bowl
  • Pasadena, CA
W 20–1658,062
October 29No. 11 Washington
  • Rose Bowl
  • Pasadena, CA
ABCW 27–2460,094
November 5at OregonW 24–1324,511
November 12at ArizonaCBSL 24–2742,640
November 19at USCW 27–1783,763
January 2, 1984vs. No. 4 Illinois*
NBCW 45–9103,217
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

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1 234Total
• UCLA 3 3714 27
USC 0 1007 17

[4]

1984 NFL Draft

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The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

Player Position Round Pick Franchise
Don Rogers Defensive back 1 18 Cleveland Browns
Jay Schroeder Quarterback 3 83 Washington Redskins

[5]

References

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  1. ^ "1983 UCLA Bruins Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  2. ^ "1983 UCLA Bruins Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  3. ^ "Interception seals Georgia victory, 19–8". The Los Angeles Times. September 4, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1982 Nov 20.
  5. ^ "1984 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.