# 1953 UCLA Bruins football team

The 1953 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1953 college football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Red Sanders, the Bruins played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The team completed the regular season with an 8–1 record (6–1 in PCC, first) for the first of three consecutive conference titles.
UCLA played in the Rose Bowl but was defeated 28–20 by eighth-ranked Michigan State and finished at 8–2. The Bruins finished fourth in the Coaches Poll and fifth in the AP Poll, both released prior to the bowl games.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 18 | Oregon State | No. 4 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | | W 41–0 | 39,209 |
| September 25 | Kansas* | No. 4 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | | W 19–7 | 42,829 |
| October 3 | at Oregon | No. 5 | Hayward FieldEugene, OR | | W 12–0 | 24,587 |
| October 9 | Wisconsin* | No. 6 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | | W 13–0 | 52,887 |
| October 17 | at Stanford | No. 4 | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA | | L 20–21 | 45,000 |
| October 24 | Washington State | No. 12 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | | W 44–7 | 27,608 |
| October 31 | California | No. 10 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (rivalry) | | W 20–7 | 70,073 |
| November 14 | Washington | No. 7 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | | W 22–6 | 13,302 |
| November 21 | at No. 9 USC | No. 5 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (rivalry) | | W 13–0 | 85,366 |
| January 1, 1954 | vs. No. 3 Michigan State | No. 5 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | NBC | L 20–28 | 100,500 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||||
Conference opponent not played this season: Idaho

## Game summaries
### USC

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| UCLA | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
| USC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
By winning this game, the Bruins were the PCC Champions and received the Rose Bowl bid. California assisted with a 21–21 tie with Stanford. Bob Heydenfeldt and Paul Cameron scored in the second and fourth quarter respectively.

### Michigan State (Rose Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| MSU | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
| UCLA | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 20 |
This was the first meeting between the two schools. It was the first Rose Bowl appearance for the Spartans. They had previously only played in the 1938 Orange Bowl. It was the third bowl appearance for the Bruins. The weather was sunny. The Spartans wore their green home jerseys and the Bruins wore their white road jerseys.
The Spartans fumbled twice in the first half, which allowed the Bruins the first two scores. Michigan State had only one completed pass and 56 yards in the first half. The Spartans scored a touchdown with 4:45 remaining in the first half.
Victor Postula knocked down four Bruin passes. Coach Biggie Munn instituted a "split line offense" against the Bruins.
The Spartans assembled two long drives in the third quarter to pull ahead 21–-14. The Bruins recovered another Spartan fumble and scored to make the score 21–20. But the extra point kick failed. Billy Wells of Michigan State returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown with 4:51 left in the game.

#### First quarter scoring

* UCLA – Bill Stits 13-yard pass from Paul Cameron. John Hermann converts.

#### Second quarter scoring

* UCLA – Cameron, two-yard run. Hermann converts.
* MSU – Ellis Duckett, six-yard blocked punt return. Evan Slonac converts.

#### Third quarter scoring

* MSU – LeRoy Bolden, one-yard run. Slonac converts.
* MSU – Billy Wells, two-yard run. Slonac converts.

#### Fourth quarter scoring

* UCLA – Rommie Loudd, 28-yard pass from Cameron passes 28 yards to Rommie Loudd. Kick failed.
* MSU – Wells, 62-yard punt return. Slonac converts

## Awards and honors

* First Team All Americans – Paul Cameron (H, Consensus selection)
* All Coast/Conference first team – Chuck Doud (T), Jack Ellena (T), Paul Cameron (H)