1997 UCLA Bruins football team
The 1997 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. They played their home games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California and were coached by Bob Toledo. It was Toledo's second season as the UCLA head coach. The Bruins finished 10–2 overall, and were Pacific-10 Conference co-champions with a 7–1 record. The Bruins were invited to play in the Cotton Bowl Classic against Texas A&M on January 1, 1998. Though the Bruins were down 16–7 at the half, Cade McNown, the offensive MVP of the game, led the team to a 29–23 victory. The team was ranked #5 in the final AP Poll and #5 in the final Coaches' Poll.
1997 UCLA Bruins football | |
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Pac-10 co-champion Cotton Bowl Classic champion | |
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 29–23 vs. Texas A&M | |
Conference | Pacific-10 Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 5 |
AP | No. 5 |
Record | 10–2 (7–1 Pac-10) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Al Borges (2nd season) |
Defensive coordinator | Rocky Long (2nd season) |
Home stadium | Rose Bowl (Capacity: 98,636) |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 9 Washington State + | 7 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 5 UCLA + | 7 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 14 Arizona State | 6 | – | 2 | 9 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 18 Washington | 5 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arizona | 4 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
USC | 4 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oregon | 3 | – | 5 | 7 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stanford | 3 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
California | 1 | – | 7 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oregon State | 0 | – | 8 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pre-season
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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August 30 | 12:30 pm | at Washington State | ABC | L 34–37 | 26,000 | ||
September 6 | 12:30 pm | No. 3 Tennessee* | ABC | L 24–30 | 62,619 | ||
September 13 | 12:30 pm | at No. 11 Texas* | ABC | W 66–3 | 77,203 | ||
September 27 | 3:30 pm | Arizona | No. 24 |
| FSN | W 40–27 | 50,188 |
October 4 | 3:30 pm | Houston* | No. 22 |
| FSW2 | W 66–10 | 38,004 |
October 11 | 3:30 pm | at Oregon | No. 18 | FX | W 39–31 | 42,314 | |
October 18 | 3:30 pm | Oregon State | No. 17 |
| FSN | W 34–10 | 38,165 |
October 25 | 3:30 pm | California | No. 13 |
| W 35–17 | 52,858 | |
November 1 | 3:30 pm | at Stanford | No. 12 | FSN | W 27–7 | 54,332 | |
November 15 | 12:30 pm | No. 13 Washington | No. 9 |
| ABC | W 52–28 | 85,697 |
November 22 | 12:30 pm | at USC | No. 7 | ABC | W 31–24 | 91,350 | |
January 1 | 10:30 am | vs. No. 20 Texas A&M* | No. 5 | CBS | W 29–23 | 59,215 | |
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Roster
1997 UCLA Bruins football team roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Game summaries
At Washington State
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No. 3 Tennessee
*Source: Box score |
Arizona
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Wildcats | 7 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 27 |
#24 Bruins | 31 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 40 |
Houston
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Cougars | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
#22 Bruins | 42 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 66 |
At Oregon
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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#18 Bruins | 27 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 39 |
Ducks | 21 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 31 |
Oregon State
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Beavers | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
#17 Bruins | 14 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 34 |
California
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Golden Bears | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
#13 Bruins | 0 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
At Stanford
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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#12 Bruins | 14 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 27 |
Cardinal | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Washington
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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#13 Huskies | 17 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 28 |
#9 Bruins | 3 | 14 | 21 | 14 | 52 |
At USC
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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#7 Bruins | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
Trojans | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
The Bruins retained the Victory Bell for the seventh straight year.
Vs. Texas A&M Aggies (Cotton Bowl Classic)
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Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rankings
Week | ||||||||||||||||||
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
AP | — | — | — | RV | 24 | 24 | 22 | 18 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Coaches | RV | RV | — | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
Harris | Not released | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
BCS | Not released | Not released |
Awards and honors
Skip Hicks, Chad Overhauser, and Chris Sailer were selected to the 1997 College Football All-America Team.
1998 NFL Draft
The following players were selected in the 1998 NFL Draft.
Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL Team |
Shaun Williams | 1 | 24 | Free Safety | New York Giants |
Skip Hicks | 3 | 69 | Running back | Washington Redskins |
Chad Overhauser | 7 | 217 | Offensive guard | Chicago Bears |
References
- "No More Please, Bruins Stuffed". The Los Angeles Times. August 31, 1997. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- "Home Groan / Tennessee 30, UCLA 24". The Los Angeles Times. September 7, 1997. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- "UCLA 66, No. 11 Texas 3". AP News. September 13, 1997. Retrieved September 24, 2022.