1976 UCLA Bruins football team

The 1976 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. Ranked at 17th in the pre-season AP Poll, former UCLA player Terry Donahue took over as the head coach. The Bruins were 9–2–1 for the season and second in the Pacific-8 Conference. UCLA lost 36–6 in the Liberty Bowl to Alabama.[1]

1976 UCLA Bruins football
Liberty Bowl, L 6–36 vs. Alabama
ConferencePacific-8 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 15
APNo. 15
Record9–2–1 (6–1 Pac-8)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorDick Tomey (1st season)
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons
 1975
1977 
1976 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 2 USC $7001110
No. 15 UCLA610921
Stanford520650
California340560
Washington340560
Washington State250380
Oregon160470
Oregon State1602100
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 9at No. 3 Arizona State*No. 17W 28–1050,876[2]
September 18Arizona*No. 5W 37–941,651[3]
September 25Air Force*No. 5
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 40–737,302[4]
October 2at No. 8 Ohio State*No. 4T 10–1087,969[5]
October 9StanfordNo. 5
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 38–2050,894[6]
October 16Washington StateNo. 4
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 62–335,508[7]
October 23at CaliforniaNo. 4W 35–1962,228[8]
October 30at WashingtonNo. 3W 30–2147,719[9]
November 6OregonNo. 3
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 46–032,158[10]
November 13at Oregon StateNo. 2W 45–1422,151[11]
November 20No. 3 USCNo. 2
L 14–2490,519[12]
December 20vs. No. 16 Alabama*No. 7L 6–3652,736[13][14]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[15]

Personnel

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1976 UCLA Bruins football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB Jeff Dankworth
WR Wally Henry
RB Wendell Tyler
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB 40 Manu Tuiasosopo So
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries

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California

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Team 1 234Total
UCLA 14 0714 35
California 0 1306 19
  • QB Jeff Dankworth sat out the second quarter with a bruised hip; returned in the third

[16]

Alabama (Liberty Bowl)

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1 2 3 4 Total
Alabama 17 7 3 9 36
UCLA 0 0 0 6 6

1st quarter scoring: Alabama – Bucky Berrey 37-yard field goal; Alabama – Barry Krauss 44-yard interception return (Bucky Berrey kick); Alabama – Johnny Davis 2-yard run (Bucky Berrey kick)

2nd quarter scoring: Alabama – Jack O'Rear 20-yard pass from Tony Nathan (Bucky Berrey kick)

3rd quarter scoring: Alabama – Bucky Berrey 25-yard field goal

4th quarter scoring: Alabama – Bucky Berrey 28-yard field goal; UCLA – Jim Brown 61-yard run (Kick failed); Alabama – Rick Watson 1-yard run (2-point pass failed)

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. 2014 UCLA Media Guide, UCLA Athletics Department, 2014
  2. "Bruins rout Arizona State 28–10". The Bismarck Tribune. September 10, 1976. Retrieved October 18, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "UCLA takes care of the rest of Arizona". The Los Angeles Times. September 19, 1976. Retrieved October 18, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "UCLA blasts A.F., 40–7; Bucks next". Long Beach Press-Telegram. September 26, 1976. Retrieved September 11, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Hayes praises Bruins after tie". The Bakersfield Californian. October 3, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Stanford bombs out". Progress-Bulletin. October 10, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Bruins rout Cougars". The Spokesman-Review. October 17, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Dankworth comes back, and so do the Bruins". Eugene Register-Guard. October 24, 1976. p. 4B. Retrieved September 14, 2025 via Google News Archive.
  9. "Jinx? Ha! Brown peps UCLA past Washington". Independnent Press-Telegram. October 31, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Bruins shut out Oregon, tie school win record". The Fresno Bee. November 7, 1976. Retrieved September 11, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Beaver giveaways help second-rated UCLA". The Columbian. November 14, 1976. Retrieved September 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  12. "USC's power knocks out UCLA". The Daily Breeze. November 21, 1976. Retrieved September 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  13. Martin, Steve (December 21, 1976). "Scoreboard tells Tide story, 36–6". The Tuscaloosa News. p. A1. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  14. "Alabama crushes UCLA, 36–6". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 21, 1976. p. 14. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  15. "2015 UCLA Bruins Football Media Guide Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  16. Ocala Star-Banner. 1976 Oct 24. Retrieved 2018-Oct-28.