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American college football season
The 1983 UCLA Bruins football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season . In their eighth year under head coach Terry Donahue , the Bruins compiled a 7–4–1 record (6–1–1 Pac-10), finished in first place in the Pacific-10 Conference , and were ranked #17 in the final AP Poll . The Bruins went on to defeat Illinois in the 1984 Rose Bowl .[ 1] The Bruins began the season 0–3–1 before winning seven of their final eight games of the season.
UCLA's offensive leaders in 1983 were quarterback Rick Neuheisel with 2,245 passing yards, running back Kevin Nelson with 898 rushing yards, and wide receiver Mike Sherrard with 709 receiving yards.[ 2] Neuheisel was selected as the 1984 Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player.
Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source September 3 at No. 15 Georgia * No. 20 ABC L 8–1982,122 [ 3]
September 17 Arizona State CBS T 26–2647,093 [ 4]
September 24 at No. 1 Nebraska * L 10–4276,510 [ 5]
October 1 BYU * Metro L 35–3750,044 [ 6]
October 8 at Stanford W 39–2155,804 [ 7]
October 15 at Washington State W 24–1430,000 [ 8]
October 22 California W 20–1658,062 [ 9]
October 29 No. 11 Washington ABC W 27–2460,094 [ 10]
November 5 at Oregon W 24–1324,511 [ 11]
November 12 at Arizona CBS L 24–2742,640 [ 12]
November 19 at USC W 27–1783,763 [ 13]
, 1984 vs. No. 4 Illinois * NBC W 45–9103,217 [ 14]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
1
2 3 4 Total
• UCLA
3
3 7 14
27
USC
0
10 0 7
17
Scoring summary Q1 UCLA Lee 25 yard field goal UCLA 3–0
Q2 UCLA Lee 20 yard field goal UCLA 6–0
Q2 USC Spencer 1 yard run (Jordan kick) USC 7–6
Q2 USC Jordan 30 yard field goal USC 10–6
Q3 UCLA Dorrell 7 yard pass from Neuhiesel (Lee kick) UCLA 13–10
Q4 UCLA Nelson 12 yard run (Lee kick) UCLA 20–10
Q4 UCLA Wiley 17 yard run (Lee kick) UCLA 27–10
Q4 USC Spencer 7 yard run (Jordan kick) UCLA 27–17
[ 15]
The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.
[ 16]
^ "1983 UCLA Bruins Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2015 .
^ "1983 UCLA Bruins Stats" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2015 .
^ "Interception seals Georgia victory, 19–8" . The Los Angeles Times . September 4, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Comeback lifts UCLA to 26–26 tie" . Omaha World-Herald . September 18, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Huskers smack stubborn UCLA" . The Sioux City Journal . September 25, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Young's air show tops winless UCLA 37–35" . The Sunday Oregonian . October 2, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Stanford falls, 39–21, but Bruins lose Bono" . The Los Angeles Times . October 9, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Cougars crumble under UCLA blitz" . The Daily Herald . October 16, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Cal nipped by UCLA" . Santa Cruz Sentinel . October 23, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Huskies don't hold up their end...UCLA wins Pac-10 shootout, 27–24" . The Bellingham Herald . October 30, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Bruins have coach smiling/frowning" . The Daily Breeze . November 6, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Road to Pasadena detours in Tucson" . The Fresno Bee . November 13, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "UCLA gets Roses; USC gets thorns" . Simi Valley Star . November 20, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Neuheisel leads UCLA past stunned Illini 45–9" . USA Today . January 3, 1984. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Gainesville Sun. 1982 Nov 20.
^ "1984 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
Pacific Coast AAWU Pacific-8 Pacific-10 Pac-12 National championships in bold