1970 UCLA Bruins football team

1970 UCLA Bruins football
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Record	6–5 (4–3 Pac-8)
Head coach	Tommy Prothro (6th season)
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

1970 Pacific-8 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 Stanford $	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Washington	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Oregon	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
UCLA	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
California	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
No. 15 USC	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
Oregon State	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Washington State	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 UCLA Bruins football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. In their sixth and final year under head coach Tommy Prothro, the Bruins compiled a 6–5 record (4–3 Pac-8) and finished in a four-way tie for second place in the Pacific-8 Conference.^[1]

UCLA's offensive leaders in 1970 were quarterback Dennis Dummit with 2,392 passing yards, running back Marv Kendricks with 573 rushing yards, and wide receiver Rick Wilkes with 595 receiving yards.^[2]

In his final season at UCLA, Prothro's team suffered a rash of key injuries and finished 6–5, yet they were three close games from a 9–2 season and Rose Bowl berth. Before those injuries set in, UCLA took a 3–0 record into Austin to play defending national champ and top ranked Texas. Trailing 13–3 at the half, UCLA rallied and had a 17–13 lead in the final minute. But with 12 seconds left, Texas completed a long pass when their receiver caught the ball between two UCLA defenders, who then collided, allowing the receiver to score.

UCLA also blew a 20-point fourth quarter lead against Oregon, when Ducks sophomore quarterback Dan Fouts rallied his team to three touchdowns and a 41–40 win.

Finally, there came the showdown with Stanford; the game was expected to be a shootout between UCLA quarterback Dennis Dummit and Heisman winner Jim Plunkett. But the defenses ruled as UCLA took a 7–6 lead into the 4th quarter. Stanford took a 9–7 lead on a field goal, but UCLA was driving to a potential game-winning field goal or touchdown themselves when they completed a pass inside the Stanford 10-yard-line, only to have the receiver get sandwiched by two defenders on the tackle and fumble. This game ultimately decided the Pac-8 championship and 1971 Rose Bowl representative.

The season ended on a high note when UCLA beat rival USC, 45–20, in a game that was not that close. This would end up being Prothro's final game at UCLA.

Prothro was frustrated by bizarre officiating at critical moments, numerous last minute narrow losses, and losing out of the Rose Bowl by the conference vote in 1966. Prothro also decried the Pac-8 rule that only allowed the conference champion to go to a bowl game; he witnessed many lower ranked inferior teams (often ones he defeated during the season) go to bowl games while his Bruins stayed home. After George Allen was fired by the Los Angeles Rams, Prothro accepted that job.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	at Oregon State	No. 18	Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	W 14–9	23,520
September 19	at Pittsburgh*	No. 16	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	W 24–15	36,539	[3]
September 26	Northwestern*	No. 15	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 12–7	36,803	[4]
October 3	at No. 2 Texas*	No. 13	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	L 17–20	65,500	[5]
October 10	Oregon	No. 15	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 40–41	44,722
October 17	at California	No. 19	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (rivalry)	W 24–21	43,000	[6]
October 24	No. 8 Stanford	No. 16	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 7–9	83,518
October 30	Washington State	No. 19	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 54–9	30,029
November 14	at Washington	No. 17	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 20–61	59,208
November 21	USC		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	W 45–20	78,773
December 5	at No. 5 Tennessee*		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	L 17–28	63,242	[7]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[8]

Roster

1970 UCLA Bruins football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 88 Bob Christiansen Jr C 50 Dave Dalby Jr QB 19 Dennis Dummit Sr G 65 Brian Goodman So OT 74 Bruce Walton So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 29 Alan Ellis So DT 73 Ed Galigher Jr DB 21 Reynaud Moore Jr LB 58 Bob Pifferini Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 44 Bruce Barnes So	Head coach Tommy Prothro Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "1970 UCLA Bruins Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
2. "1970 UCLA Bruins Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
3. "U.C.L.A. Defeats Pittsburgh, 24-15". Chicago Tribune. September 20, 1970. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
4. "UCLA nips northwestern". The Washington Post. September 27, 1970.
5. "Bruins within 12 seconds of upset". The Daily Report. October 4, 1970. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "UCLA trips california in final minute". October 18, 1970. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
7. "Vols' late rally nips UCLA 28–17". The Sacramento Bee. December 6, 1970. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "2015 UCLA Bruins Football Media Guide Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). Retrieved June 14, 2017.