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1953 UCLA

8–⁠2 (6–⁠1 Pacific Coast Conference), coached by Red Sanders, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

UCLA in 1953, game by game: won vs. Oregon State 41–0; won vs. Kansas 19–7; won at Oregon 12–0; won vs. Wisconsin 13–0; lost at Stanford 20–21; won vs. Washington State 44–7; won vs. California 20–7; won vs. Washington 22–6; won at No. 9 USC 13–0; lost vs. No. 3 Michigan State 20–28+41−8Won 41–0 vs. Oregon State+41Oregon StateWon 19–7 vs. Kansas+12KansasWon 12–0 at Oregon+12OregonWon 13–0 vs. Wisconsin+13WisconsinLost 20–21 at Stanford-1StanfordWon 44–7 vs. Washington State+37Washington StateWon 20–7 vs. California+13CaliforniaWon 22–6 vs. Washington+16WashingtonWon 13–0 at No. 9 USC+13No. 9 USCLost 20–28 vs. No. 3 Michigan State-8No. 3 Michigan State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 18vsOregon StateW 41–⁠083%
Sep 25vsKansasW 19–⁠770%
Oct 3atOregonW 12–⁠079%
Oct 9vsWisconsinW 13–⁠067%
Oct 17atStanfordL 20–⁠2169%
Oct 24vsWashington StateW 44–⁠780%
Oct 31vsCaliforniaW 20–⁠774%
Nov 14vsWashingtonW 22–⁠681%
Nov 21at9USCW 13–⁠049%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3Michigan StateRose BowlL 20–⁠2851%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Michigan State 28–⁠20 in the Rose Bowl; No. 5 in the final AP poll; Pacific Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 4
  2. Wk 2: 5
  3. Wk 3: 6
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 12
  6. Wk 6: 10
  7. Wk 7: 9
  8. Wk 8: 7
  9. Wk 9: 5
  10. Wk 10: 5
  11. Final: 5

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1953.

Pacific Coast Conference champions6–⁠1 in the conference

Heisman votePaul Cameron, third

Consensus All-AmericanPaul Cameron, RB

Record
8–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 first in Pacific Coast Conference
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 4
Points
224–⁠76
Coach
Red Sanders
Elo
1735 +82 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
16.9 No. 11 of 110 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offense
Single-wing

Drafted in 1954

The 1954 draft
Rd 4Bill Stits BDetroit Lions

All-Pacific Coast

3 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • Bob DavenportBUP-2
  • Myron BerlinerEAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1953 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1953 Pacific Coast Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCLA6–⁠18–⁠25
Stanford5–⁠1–⁠16–⁠3–⁠119
USC4–⁠2–⁠16–⁠3–⁠1
California2–⁠2–⁠24–⁠4–⁠2
Washington State3–⁠44–⁠6
Oregon State3–⁠53–⁠6
Washington2–⁠4–⁠13–⁠6–⁠1
Oregon2–⁠5–⁠14–⁠5–⁠1
Idaho0–⁠31–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.