CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1976 UCLA

9–⁠2–⁠1 (6–⁠1 Pac-8), coached by Terry Donahue, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

UCLA in 1976, game by game: won at No. 3 Arizona State 28–10; won vs. Arizona 37–9; won vs. Air Force 40–7; tied at No. 8 Ohio State 10–10; won vs. Stanford 38–20; won vs. Washington State 62–3; won at California 35–19; won at Washington 30–21; won vs. Oregon 46–0; won at Oregon State 45–14; lost vs. No. 3 USC 14–24; lost vs. No. 16 Alabama 6–36+59−30Won 28–10 at No. 3 Arizona State+18No. 3 Arizona StateWon 37–9 vs. Arizona+28ArizonaWon 40–7 vs. Air Force+33Air ForceTied 10–10 at No. 8 Ohio State0No. 8 Ohio StateWon 38–20 vs. Stanford+18StanfordWon 62–3 vs. Washington State+59Washington StateWon 35–19 at California+16CaliforniaWon 30–21 at Washington+9WashingtonWon 46–0 vs. Oregon+46OregonWon 45–14 at Oregon State+31Oregon StateLost 14–24 vs. No. 3 USC-10No. 3 USCLost 6–36 vs. No. 16 Alabama-30No. 16 Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9at3Arizona StateW 28–⁠1040%
Sep 18vsArizonaW 37–⁠964%
Sep 25vsAir ForceW 40–⁠788%
Oct 2at8Ohio StateT 10–⁠1040%
Oct 9vsStanfordW 38–⁠2080%
Oct 16vsWashington StateW 62–⁠390%
Oct 23atCaliforniaW 35–⁠1956%
Oct 30atWashingtonW 30–⁠2175%
Nov 6vsOregonW 46–⁠091%
Nov 13atOregon StateW 45–⁠1492%
Nov 20vs3USCL 14–⁠2464%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvs16AlabamaLiberty BowlL 6–⁠3649%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Alabama 36–⁠6 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 15 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Pac-8.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 17
  2. Wk 2: 5
  3. Wk 3: 5
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 5
  6. Wk 6: 4
  7. Wk 7: 4
  8. Wk 8: 3
  9. Wk 9: 3
  10. Wk 10: 2
  11. Wk 11: 2
  12. Wk 12: 6
  13. Wk 13: 7
  14. Final: 15

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 1976.

Consensus All-AmericanJerry Robinson, LB

Record
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠1 2nd in Pac-8
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 2
Points
391–⁠173
Coach
Terry Donahue
Elo
1694 +67 this season
SP+ rating
23.2 No. 7 of 132; offense No. 3, defense No. 36
SRS
19.8 No. 10 of 137 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Dick Tomey

Drafted in 1977

The 1977 draft
Rd 3Wendell Tyler RBLos Angeles Rams
Rd 4Rick Walker TECincinnati Bengals

All-Pac-8

7 first team, 8 second team

First team

Second team

  • Wendell TylerRBCoaches-2
  • Gus CoppensOTCoaches-2
  • Rob KezirianOTCoaches-2
  • Greg TaylorOGCoaches-2
  • Keith EckOGCoaches-2
  • Mitch KahnCCoaches-2
  • Raymond BurksLBCoaches-2
  • Frank StephensLBCoaches-2

From Wikipedia’s 1976 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1976 Pac-8 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC7–⁠011–⁠12
UCLA6–⁠19–⁠2–⁠115
Stanford5–⁠26–⁠5
California3–⁠45–⁠6
Washington3–⁠45–⁠6
Washington State2–⁠53–⁠8
Oregon1–⁠64–⁠7
Oregon State1–⁠62–⁠10

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