# 1946 UCLA Bruins football team

The 1946 UCLA Bruins football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1946 college football season. In their second year under head coach Bert LaBrucherie, the Bruins won all ten games in the regular season (7–0 in PCC, first), but lost 45–14 to Illinois in the Rose Bowl to finish at 10–1. Home games were played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The Bruins ranked fourth nationally in total offense, averaging 377.9 yards per game; and were ranked fifth nationally in rushing defense with an average 259.8 yards per game.
Ten UCLA players were selected by the Associated Press (AP) or United Press (UP) on the 1946 All-Pacific Coast football team: quarterback Ernie Case (AP-1, UP-1); end Burr Baldwin (AP-1, UP-1); tackle Don Malmberg (AP-1, UP-1); center/linebacker Don Paul (AP-1, UP-1); backs Jerry Shipkey (AP-2, UP-3), Cal Rossi (AP-3, UP-2), and Ernie Johnson (AP-3); tackle Bill Chambers (AP-2, UP-2); guard Mike Dimitro (AP-2, UP-3); and end Tom Fears (AP-3, UP-2).

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 28 | Oregon State | | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | W 50–7 | 48,650 |
| October 5 | at Washington | | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | W 39–13 | 43,000 |
| October 12 | No. 17 Stanford | No. 5 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | W 26–6 | 90,803 |
| October 19 | at California | No. 4 | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA (rivalry) | W 13–6 | 65,000 |
| October 26 | Santa Clara* | No. 5 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | W 33–7 | 36,000 |
| November 1 | Saint Mary's* | No. 4 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | W 46–20 | 92,976 |
| November 9 | at Oregon | No. 4 | Multnomah StadiumPortland, OR | W 14–0 | 30,000 |
| November 16 | Montana | No. 4 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | W 61–7 | 23,000 |
| November 23 | No. 10 USC | No. 4 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (Victory Bell) | W 13–6 | 93,714 |
| November 30 | Nebraska* | No. 4 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | W 18–0 | 52,558 |
| January 1, 1947 | vs. Illinois* | No. 4 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | L 14–45 | 93,083 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game |||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Final |
| AP | 5 (1) | 4 (5) | 5 (2) | 4 (1) | 4 (3) | 4 (7) | 4 (5) | 4 (5) | 4 (2) |

## After the season

The 1947 NFL draft was held on December 16, 1946. The following Bruins were selected.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL club |
| 1 | 4 | Cal Rossi | Back | Washington Redskins |
| 1 | 6 | Ernie Case | Quarterback | Green Bay Packers |
| 3 | 20 | Burr Baldwin | End | Green Bay Packers |
| 3 | 21 | Don Paul | Linebacker | Los Angeles Rams |
| 8 | 58 | Jerry Shipkey | Linebacker | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 9 | 68 | Roy Kurrasch | End | Washington Redskins |
| 13 | 113 | Mike Dimitro | Guard | Los Angeles Rams |
| 20 | 183 | Ben Reiges | Back | Los Angeles Rams |
| 21 | 193 | Leon McLaughlin | Center | Los Angeles Rams |