The new quarterback this season was
Mark Harmon, a junior college transfer and son of
Heisman Trophy winner
Tom Harmon.[1][2] In his first game for the Bruins, Harmon led the
wishbone offense and gained a late night upset of top-ranked
Nebraska at the Coliseum. An 18-pointunderdog, UCLA was never behind; Nebraska had five turnovers but fought back to tie the score before halftime at ten and again early in the fourth quarter at seventeen. In their final drive, Harmon drove UCLA into field goal range and
Efrén Herrera made a 29-yarder in the final half minute for the 20–17 win.[1][2]It halted the two-time defending
national champion Huskers' unbeaten streak at 32 games and vaulted the previously unranked Bruins (2–7–1 in
1971) to eighth in the AP Poll, as Nebraska slid to tenth.[3]
Two weeks later, the Bruins lost at home to
Michigan, but then won six straight and improved to 8–1 overall. An upset loss to
Washington at
Husky Stadium in
Seattle and an expected one to top-ranked
rivalUSC in the Coliseum ended UCLA's season at 8–3.[4][5] The Pac-8 runner-up at 5–2, they were ranked fifteenth in the
final AP poll;[6] the conference did not allow a second bowl team until the
1975 season.
All-Conference First Team: Bruce Barnes (P), Allan Ellis (DB), Kermit Johnson (RB), Steve Klosterman (OG),
James McAlister (RB),
Fred McNeill (DE), Bruce Walton (OT)[16]