1954 UCLA Bruins football team

The 1954 UCLA Bruins football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Pacific Coast Conference during the 1954 college football season. They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and were coached by Red Sanders. It was Sanders' sixth season as the UCLA head coach; the Bruins finished 9–0 overall, and were Pacific Coast Conference Champions with a 6–0 record.^[1] In nine games, UCLA outscored their opponents, 367 to 40.

1954 UCLA Bruins football
Coaches' Poll national champion FWAA national champion PCC champion
Conference	Pacific Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 2
Record	9–0 (6–0 PCC)
Head coach	Red Sanders (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Single-wing
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons ← 1953 1955 →

1954 Pacific Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 UCLA $	6	–	0	–	0			9	–	0	–	0
No. 17 USC ^	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Oregon	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
California	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Washington State	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Stanford	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Idaho	1	–	2	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Washington	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Oregon State	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – Selected as Rose Bowl representative UCLA won rivalry game over USC, but no-repeat rule was in effect Rankings from AP Poll

The Bruins were not eligible to play in the Rose Bowl vs. Ohio State (ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll) because of the PCC's "no repeat" rule, in effect for most of the decade, after California lost a third straight Rose Bowl in January 1951. Since UCLA had played in the 1954 Rose Bowl, they were excluded from the 1955 event. The game likely would have made for a de facto national championship game, but thus, rival USC (whom the Bruins soundly defeated 34–0) went instead, and lost 20–7 to Ohio State. Following the outcome, UCLA and Ohio State split the national championship.

UCLA was selected national champion by NCAA-designated major selectors of Dunkel, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, and United Press International (Coaches Poll), and co-champion by both Football Research and Helms.^[2]: 113 This consensus national championship is claimed by the school.^{[2]: 120 [3]} Ohio State was selected national champion by the AP Poll among other selectors.

During the season, the Bruins debuted their powder blue uniforms, referred to as "powder-keg blue" by head coach Sanders, that featured two white stripes around the shoulders.^[4] The white uniforms with blue stripes were used the previous season during the game against USC but this was the earliest known instance of the stripes becoming a regular part of the UCLA uniform.^[5][6]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18	8:30 p.m.	San Diego NTC*	No. 8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 67–0	24,793	[7]
September 25	1:00 p.m.	at Kansas*	No. 8	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	W 32–7	25,000	[8]
October 1	8:30 p.m.	No. 6 Maryland*	No. 4	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 12–7	73,376	[9][10]
October 9	2:00 p.m.	at Washington	No. 2	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 21–20	35,678	[11]
October 16	2:00 p.m.	Stanford	No. 3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 72–0	70,555	[12]
October 23	1:30 p.m.	at Oregon State	No. 3	Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	W 61–0	8,500	[13]
October 30	2:00 p.m.	at California	No. 3	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 27–6	65,000	[14]
November 6	2:00 p.m.	Oregon	No. 1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 41–0	46,435	[15]
November 20	2:00 p.m.	No. 7 USC	No. 2	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 34–0	102,548	[16]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

Game summaries

San Diego Navy

San Diego Navy at UCLA

1 2 3 4 Total San Diego Navy 0 0 0 0 0 • Bruins 13 27 7 20 67 Date: September 18, 1954 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA Game start: 8:30 pm PST Game attendance: 24,793 Game weather: Temperature: 72 °F (22 °C) • Weather: Clear

Scoring summary 1 3:40 UCLA Primo Villanueva 3-yard run UCLA 6–0 1 6:53 UCLA Primo Villanueva 9-yard run (Doug Bradley Kick) UCLA 13–0 2 4:48 UCLA Bruce Ballard 20-yard run (Sam Brown Kick) UCLA 20–0 2 8:45 UCLA Sam Brown 2-yard run (Sam Brown Kick) UCLA 27–0 2 11:36 UCLA Primo Villanueva 11-yard run (Doug Bradley Kick) UCLA 34–0 2 13:19 UCLA Bob Davenport 9-yard run UCLA 40–0 3 5:21 UCLA Bob Davenport 1-yard run (Doug Bradley Kick) UCLA 47–0 4 0:04 UCLA Gerry McDougal 1-yard run UCLA 54–0 4 4:15 UCLA Ronnie Loudd 4-yard pass from Gerry McDougal (Doug Bradley Kick) UCLA 61–0 4 7:10 UCLA Doug Peters 2-yard run UCLA 67–0

The Bruins had originally scheduled Santa Clara to open their season but after the Broncos suspended football, the San Diego Naval Training Center was scheduled as a replacement. Although the San Diego NTC featured players such as All-American Bucky Curtis from Vanderbilt and All-PCC Earl Stelle from Oregon, UCLA was favored three touchdowns.^[17]

Primo Villanueva scored the first two touchdowns of the game and the Bruins led 13–0 within 7 minutes. Bruce Ballard, Sam Brown, Villaneuva, and Bob Davenport would each score another running touchdown giving the Bruins a 40–0 halftime lead. Davenport, Gerry McDougall, and Doug Peters would each score three more running touchdowns and Ronnie Loudd would score a passing touchdown from Gerry McDougal to give UCLA a punishing 67–0 victory.^[18][19]

Kansas

UCLA at Kansas

1 2 3 4 Total • Bruins 18 0 0 14 32 Jayhawks 0 7 0 0 7 Date: September 25, 1954 Location: Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS Game start: 4:00 p.m. CST Game attendance: 25,000

Scoring summary 1 4:27 UCLA Bob Davenport 1-yard run UCLA 6–0 1 8:45 UCLA Jim Decker 18-yard run UCLA 12–0 1 13:19 UCLA Doug Bradley 3-yard run UCLA 18–0 2 13:36 KU Ralph Moody 82-yard punt return (Reich Kick) UCLA 18–7 4 3:31 UCLA Jack Ellena 50-yard punt return (Doug Bradley Kick) UCLA 25–7 4 14:08 UCLA Gerry McDougall 9-yard run (Sam Brown Kick) UCLA 32–7

See also: 1954 Kansas Jayhawks football team

The Bruins scored three consecutive touchdowns in the first quarter. Kansas player Ralph Moody scored the first Kansas touchdown on an 82-yard punt return. Jack Ellena would score on a 50-yard punt return in the fourth quarter. A 73-yard run by reserve fullback Don Shinnick down to the 9-yard line would set up Gerry McDougall for UCLA's final score of the day.^{[20][8][21][22]}

Maryland

Maryland at UCLA

1 2 3 4 Total Terrapins 0 0 0 7 7 • Bruins 6 0 0 6 12 Date: October 1, 1954 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA Game start: 8:30 pm PST Game attendance: 73,376 Game weather: Temperature: 68 °F (20 °C) • Weather: Clear

Scoring summary 1 7:42 UCLA Bob Davenport 3-yard run UCLA 6–0 4 0:38 Maryland Dare 11-yard pass from Boxold (Bielski Kick) Maryland 7–6 4 8:24 UCLA Bob Davenport 1-yard run UCLA 12–7

See also: 1954 Maryland Terrapins football team

Maryland were the 1953 national champions. Bob Davenport gained 89 yard on 23 carries and scored both of UCLA's touchdowns. Maryland's Howard Dare scored a touchdown on a pass from Charley Boxold to give the Terrapins the lead early in the fourth quarter. Davenport scored the go ahead touchdown in the middle of the fourth quarter to give the Bruins the victory.^[23][24]

Washington

UCLA at Washington

1 2 3 4 Total • Bruins 7 0 14 0 21 Huskies 0 0 7 13 20 Date: October 9, 1954 Location: Husky Stadium Seattle, WA Game start: 2:00 p.m. PST Game attendance: 35,700 Game weather: Weather: Warm-Overcast Referee: Jack L. Sprenger, Melvin W. Nicherson, Ted T. Fehring, Albert A. Bodner, Rudolph E. Hansen, Fred L. Gali

Scoring summary 1 6:13 UCLA Bob Davenport 6-yard run (Johnny Hermann Kick) UCLA 7–0 3 2:43 UCLA Bob Davenport 16-yard run (Johnny Hermann Kick) UCLA 14–0 3 6:06 UCLA Primo Villanueva 2-yard run (Bradley Kick) UCLA 21–0 3 9:43 WASH Dean Derby 33-yard pass from Bob Cox UCLA 21–7 4 3:14 WASH Corky Lewis 5-yard pass from Bob Cox UCLA 21–13 4 12:34 WASH Bud Green 9-yard pass from Bob Cox UCLA 21–20

See also: 1954 Washington Huskies football team

Bob Davenport scored two rushing touchdowns, Primo Villanueva scored one rushing touchdown, and Johnny Herman converted all three extra points to give UCLA a 21–0 led midway through the third quarter. After Bruins Coach Sanders replaced his starters with his second and third string players, Washington quarterback Bob Cox threw a passing touchdown to Dean Derby and Bob Dunn converted the extra point to reduce UCLA's lead to 21–7 at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Sam Brown fumbled which allowed Washington to recover at the UCLA 25. Cox threw another touchdown, this time to Corky Lewis but Dunn missed the extra point kick. Brown fumbled again for a 13-yard loss and Washington scored another passing touchdown on a 56-yard drive. Dunn's extra point reduced the UCLA lead to 21–20 with 2:30 minutes left. The Bruins would hold out to win the game.^[25]

Stanford

Stanford at UCLA

1 2 3 4 Total Indians 0 0 0 0 0 • Bruins 13 14 21 24 72 Date: October 16, 1954 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA Game start: 2:00 p.m. PST Game attendance: 70,555 Game weather: Temperature: 78 °F (26 °C) • Weather: Hot

Scoring summary 1 4:08 UCLA Bob Davenport 27-yard run (Johnny Hermann Kick) UCLA 7–0 1 14:25 UCLA Jim Decker 64-yard run UCLA 13–0 2 7:36 UCLA Villanueva 11-yard run (S. Brown Kick) UCLA 20–0 2 13:28 UCLA Villanueva 5-yard run (S. Brown Kick) UCLA 27–0 3 0:30 UCLA Rommie Loudd 27-yard pass from Villanueva (Johnny Hermann PAT) UCLA 34–0 3 8:33 UCLA Bob Heydenfeldt Blocked Punt (Bradley Kick) UCLA 41–0 3 10:33 UCLA Doug Bradley 4-yard run (Bradley Kick) UCLA 48–0 4 1:34 UCLA Sam Brown 33-yard punt return UCLA 54–0 4 6:54 UCLA McDougall 6-yard run UCLA 60–0 4 12:32 UCLA Sam Brown 82-yard punt return UCLA 66–0 4 UCLA Bob Davenport 64-yard pass interception return UCLA 72–0

See also: 1954 Stanford Indians football team

The Bruin defense intercepted Stanford quarterbacks Jerry Gustafson and John Neff eight times and returned them for 210 total yards. Sam Brown set a new conference record for punt returns with 132 yards in three returns. Villanueva, Davenport and Brown each scored twice while Decker, Loudd, Heydenfeldt and McDougall scored once each for a total of 10 touchdowns.^[26]

Oregon State

UCLA at Oregon State

1 2 3 4 Total • Bruins 13 20 14 14 61 Beavers 0 0 0 0 0 Date: October 23, 1954 Location: Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR Game start: 1:30 p.m. PST Game attendance: 8,500 Game weather: Weather: Fair

Scoring summary 1 2:27 UCLA Bob Davenport 1-yard run (Johnny Hermann Kick) UCLA 7–0 1 13:52 UCLA Johnny Hermann 18-yard pass from Bradley UCLA 13–0 2 6:35 UCLA Primo Villanueva 2-yard run (Johnny Hermann Kick) UCLA 20–0 2 8:36 UCLA Sam Brown 62-yard punt return (Sam Brown Kick) UCLA 27–0 2 10:26 UCLA Doug Peters 21-yard run UCLA 33–0 3 6:00 UCLA Don Shinnick 1-yard run (McDougal Kick) UCLA 40–0 3 12:35 UCLA Russ Hampton 8-yard pass from McDougal (Bradley Kick) UCLA 47–0 4 4:30 UCLA Sam Brown 62-yard punt return UCLA 54–0 4 11:00 UCLA Clarence Norris 21-yard blocked kick (Sam Brown Kick) UCLA 61–0

See also: 1954 Oregon State Beavers football team

Sam Brown scored two touchdowns and Bob Davenport, Johnny Hermann, Primo Villanueva, Doug Peters, Don Shinnick, Russ Hampton, and Clarence Norris each scored a touchdown to give UCLA the 61–0 victory over Oregon State. The Bruins rushed for 498 yards and 593 total yards while holding Oregon State to 88 rushing yards and 111 total yards.^[27]

California

UCLA at California

1 2 3 4 Total • Bruins 7 7 0 13 27 Golden Bears 0 6 0 0 6 Date: October 30, 1954 Location: California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA Game start: 2:00 p.m. PST Game attendance: 64,000 Game weather: Weather: Warm

Scoring summary 1 5:17 UCLA Primo Villanueva 3-yard run (Johnny Hermann Kick) UCLA 7–0 2 0:47 UCLA Primo Villanueva 26-yard run (Sam Brown Kick) UCLA 14–0 2 12:07 CAL Williams 7-yard run UCLA 14–6 4 0:05 UCLA Bob Davenport 1-yard run (Johnny Hermann Kick) UCLA 21–6 4 6:32 UCLA Johnny Hermarnn 8-yard pass from Primo Villanueva UCLA 27–6

See also: 1954 California Golden Bears football team

Primo Villanueva rushed for two touchdowns in the first half and threw a touchdown pass to Johnny Hermann in the fourth. Cal's Paul Larson set new Bears record for passes (38), pass completions (25), and pass yards (280) and Williams scored the Bears' lone touchdown on a 7-yard run.^[28]

Oregon

Oregon at UCLA

1 2 3 4 Total Webfoots 0 0 0 0 0 • Bruins 7 14 6 14 41 Date: November 6, 1954 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA Game start: 2:00 pm PST Game attendance: 46,435 Game weather: Temperature: 82 °F (28 °C) • Weather: Clear

Scoring summary 1 6:16 UCLA Rommie Loudd 16-yard pass from Primo Villanueva (Johnny Hermann Kick) UCLA 7–0 2 1:25 UCLA Bob Davenport 4-yard run (Johnny Hermann Kick) UCLA 14–0 2 13:10 UCLA Jim Decker 91-yard run (Johnny Hermann Kick) UCLA 21–0 3 5:32 UCLA Rommie Loudd recovered blocked kick UCLA 27–0 4 5:58 UCLA Doug Bradley 1-yard run(Johnny Hermann Kick) UCLA 34–0 4 14:06 UCLA Sam Brown 5-yard run (Sam Brown Kick) UCLA 41–0

See also: 1954 Oregon Webfoots football team

With the victory, UCLA set a new single scoring record of 333 points, surpassing the previous record of 327 points in just 8 games. Rommie Loudd scored the first points of the game on a 16-yard pass from Primo Villanueva. Bob Davenport, Jim Decker, Doug Bradley, Sam Brown, and Rommie Loudd each scored rushing touchdowns. Oregon only moved passed the 50 yard line two and the UCLA defense limited George Shaw, the country's leading passer with 178 yard per game, to only 29 yards.^[29]

USC

USC at UCLA

1 2 3 4 Total Trojans 0 0 0 0 0 • Bruins 7 0 0 27 34 Date: November 20, 1954 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA Game start: 2:00 p.m. PST Game attendance: 102,548 Game weather: Temperature: 90 °F (32 °C) • Weather: Clear-Hot

Scoring summary 1 6:48 UCLA Bob Heydenfeldt 48-yard pass from Primo Villanueva (Johnny Herman Kick) UCLA 6–0 4 0:44 UCLA Bob Davenport 1-yard plunge (Johnny Herman Kick) UCLA 14–0 4 2:13 UCLA Terry Debay 12-yard pass from Villanueva (Johnny Herman Kick) UCLA 21–0 4 6:00 UCLA Rommie Loudd 7-yard pass from Bradley (Johnny Herman Kick) UCLA 28–0 4 14:13 UCLA Bruce Ballard 48-yard pass from Brown (Johnny Herman Kick) UCLA 34–0

See also: 1954 USC Trojans football team

A 48-yard pass from Primo Villanueva to Bob Heydenfeldt gave UCLA a 7–0 first quarter lead. The Bruins poured on with four touchdowns in the fourth quarter: Bob Davenport scored from the one-yard line, Villanueva passed to Terry Debay for a 12-yard touchdown, Rommie Loudd caught a pass from Doug Bradley for an 8-yard touchdown, and Sam Brown passed to Bruce Ballard for a 17-yard touchdown. USC had only 5 yards rushing.^[30]

Personnel

Roster

1954 UCLA Bruins Football
Halfbacks 12 Doug Bradley– Sophomore 15 Sam Brown – Junior 16 Gerry McDougall – Sophomore 19 Primo Villanueva – Senior 30 Jim Decker – Junior 32 Bruce Ballard 33 Johnny Hermann – Junior Fullbacks 26 Doug Peters – Junior 27 Bob Davenport – Junior 28 Don Shinnick – Sophomore Quarterbacks 40 Terry Debay – Senior 44 Bob Bergdahl – Sophomore 46 Gerry Okuneff – Senior		Centers 50 John Peterson – Senior 52 Jack McKay – Sophomore 53 Steve Palmer – Junior Guards 60 Hardiman Cureton – Junior 62 Tom Thaxter – Sophomore 63 Jim Brown – Junior 64 Jim Salsbury – Senior 66 Mike Riskas 67 Sam Boghosian – Senior 69 Richard Braunbeck		Tackles 71 Gil Moreno – Junior 74 Preston Dills – Junior 75 Warner Benjamin – Senior 77 Jack Ellena – Senior 78 Joe Ray – Senior Ends 81 Bob Long – Senior 82 Rommie Loudd – Junior 83 Bob Heydenfeldt – Senior 84 Roger White - Junior 85 Russ Hampton 86 John Farhood 90 Clarence Norris – Senior
Sources:[31][32][33]

Coaching staff

Henry "Red" Sanders returned to coach the Bruins for the sixth season. The Bruin coaching staff included four future college head coaches, including three (Barnes, Dickerson, and Prothro) who would eventually serve as UCLA head coaches.^[34]

Name	Position	Years at UCLA	Alma mater (year)
Henry "Red" Sanders	Head coach	6	Vanderbilt (1926)
William F. Barnes	Ends coach	5	Tennessee (1939)
Deke Brackett	Assistant coach	5	Tennessee (1933)
George W. Dickerson	Assistant line coach	8	UCLA (1936)
Jim Myers	Line coach	6	Tennessee (1946)
Tommy Prothro	Backfield coach	6	Duke (1941)
Johnny Johnson	Freshman coach	6	UCLA (1946)[35]

Statistics

Team

UCLA Opp Points per game 40.8 4.4 First Downs 151 95   Rushing 119 35   Passing 31 58   Penalty 1 2 Rushing yardage 2,578 659   Rushing attempts 454 314   Avg per rush 5.6 2.1   Avg per game 286.4 73.2 Passing yardage 721 1,049   Avg per game 80.1 116.6   Completions – attempts 52-107 (48.6%) 92-216 (42.6%) Total offense 3,299 1,708   Total play 561 470   Avg per play 5.9 3.7   Avg per game 366.6 195.3 Fumbles lost 23–12 32–21

UCLA Opp Punts – yards 40-1497 (37.4 avg) 57-1932 (33.9 avg) Punt returns – total yards 32-588 (18.4 avg) 23-271 (11.8 avg) Kick returns – total yards 16-323 (20.2 avg) 58-862 (14.9 avg) Onside kicks Avg time of possession per game Penalties – yards 34-400 41-355   Avg per game 44.4 39.4 3rd down conversions 4th down conversions Sacks By – yards Total TDs 45 6   Rushing 35 2   Passing 10 4 Field Goals – attempts 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (0%) PAT – attempts 37-55 (67.3%) 4-6 (66.7%) Total attendance 317,707 134,178   Games – avg per game 5 – 63,541 4 – 33,544

Scores by quarter

1 2 3 4 Total Opponents 0 13 7 20 40 UCLA 91 82 62 132 367

Offense

Rushing

Name	GP-GS	Att	Gain	Loss	Net	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Bruce Ballard	8-0	18	141	19	122	6.8	2		15.3
Doug Bradley	9-1	31	116	27	89	2.9	1		9.9
Sam Brown	8-2	23	165	30	135	5.9	5		16.9
Bob Davenport	9-9	105	505	26	479	4.6	11		53.2
Jim Decker	9-8	47	523	15	508	10.8	4		56.4
Johnny Hermann	9-1	23	171	16	155	6.7	2		17.2
Bob Heydenfeldt	9-3	1	0	8	-8	-8	2		-0.9
Rommie Loudd	9-6	3	7	3	4	1.3	5		0.4
Gerry McDougall	8-0	43	254	28	226	5.3	2		28.3
Clarence Norris	9-0	1	0	0	0	0	1		0
Doug Peters	9-0	42	193	12	181	4.3	2		20.1
Don Shinnick	9-0	28	210	0	210	7.5	1		23.3
Al Tanner	2-0	1	11	0	11	11	0		5.5
Primo Villanueva	8-6	87	544	58	486	5.6	4		60.8
*Bad Center Pass		1	0	20	-20	-20
Total	115-36	454	2,860	262	2,578	5.7.6	42		22.4

Passing

Name	GP-GS	Effic	Att-Cmp-Int	Pct	Yds	TD	Lng	Avg/G
Doug Bradley	9-1		31-20-2	0.645	229	2		25.4
Sam Brown	8-2		12-3-1	0.25	54	1		6.8
Bob Davenport	9-9		1-0-0	0	0	0		0
Gerry McDougall	8-0		14-6-0	0.429	38	2		4.8
Primo Villanueva	9-6		49-23-7	0.469	400	5		44.4
Total	107-18		107-52-10	0.486	721	10		6.73

Receiving

Name	GP-GS	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Bob Ballard	8-0	2	36	18	1		4.5
Terry DeBay	9-8	1	12	12	1		1.3
Jim Decker	9-8	4	78	19.5	0		8.7
Russ Hampton	7-0	5	60	12	1		8.6
Johnny Hermann	9-1	5	73	14.6	2		8.1
Bob Heydenfeldt	9-3	6	110	18.3	1		12.2
Bob Long	9-9	11	157	14.3	0		17.4
Rommie Loudd	9-6	13	157	12.1	4		17.4
Clarence Norris	9-0	3	21	7	0		2.3
Gerry Okuneff	8-0	2	17	8.5	0		2.1
Total	86-35	52	721	13.9	10		8.4

Defense

Name	GP	Tackles				Sacks	Pass defense		Interceptions				Fumbles		Blkd kick
		Solo	Ast	Total	TFL-yds	No-Yds	BrUp	QBH	No.-yds	Avg	TD	Long	Rcv-Yds	FF
Bruce Ballard	8								4-60
Warner Benjamin	9								1-9
Bob Bergdahl	8								1-8
Doug Bradley	9								2-31
Richard Braunbeck	5								1-5
Sam Brown	8								1-21
Bob Davenport	9								1-64
Terry DeBay	9								3-73
Jim Decker	9								2-91
Russ Hampton	7								1-0
Johnny Hermann	9								2-44
Bob Long	9								2-37
Rommie Loudd	9								1-6
Gerry Okuneff	8								2-5
Steve Palmer	9								1-0
Doug Peters	9								1-30
Primo Villanueva	8								2-21
Total	142								28-505

Special teams

Name	Punting								Kickoffs
	No.	Yds	Avg	Long	TB	FC	I20	Blkd	No.	Yds	Avg	TB	OB
Doug Bradley	1	42	42
Sam Brown	4	134	33.5
Bob Heydenfeldt	26	1038	39.9
Gerry McDougall	2	45	22.5
Primo Villanueva	7	238	34											-
Total	40	1,497	37.4

Name	Punt returns					Kick returns
	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Bob Ballard						1	17	17
Doug Bradley	5	127	25.4			1	23	23
Sam Brown	10	262	26.2			1	28	28
Bob Davenport						4	74	18.5
Jim Decker	1	18	18			2	29	14.5
Jack Ellena	1	50	50
Johnny Hermann	2	4	2
Rommie Loudd						1	15	15
Gerry McDougall						1	29	29
Clarence Norris	1	21	21
Doug Peters						1	18	18
Primo Villanueva	12	106	8.8			4	80	20
Total	32	588	18.3			9	313	34.7

(Statistics compiled from individual NCAA game summaries)^{[7][22][10][11][12][13][14][16]}

Ranking

See also: 1954 NCAA football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
AP	8 (1)	8 (2)	4 (3)	2 (20)	3 (10)	3 (23)	3 (45)	1 (72)	1 (117)	2 (92)	2 (85)	2 (133)
Coaches	Not released		4 (1) [36]	2 (5) [37]	3 (2) [38]	3 (6) [39]	1 (8) [40]	1 (19) [41]	1 (26) [42]	1 (23) [43]	1 (22) [43]	1 (21) [44]

Awards and honors

All-American

• First Team All-American (Consensus)
  • Jack Ellena (AAB, AFCA, AP, INS, NEA, SN, UP)
• First Team All-American
  • Bob Davenport (AP-2, FWAA, INS-2, NEA-2, UP-3, CP-2)
  • Jim Salsbury (AFCA, AP-3, FWAA, INS-2, NEA-2, UP-2, CP-3)
• Second Team All-American
  • Primo Villaneva (AP-HR, UP-2, CP-HR, NEA-HR)
• Honorable Mention All-American
  • Sam Boghosian (UP-HR)
  • Hardiman Cureton (UP-HR, UP-HR)
  • Bob Heydenfeldt (UP-HR)
  • Bob Long (AP-HR)
  • Ronnie Loudd (UP-HR)
  • Terry Debay (UP-HR)
  • Jim Decker (UP-HR)
  • John Peterson (UP-HR, CP-HR)
  • Joe Ray (AP-HR, UP-HR)

Coaches' All-PCC

• All-PCC First Team
  • Bob Davenport
  • Jim Salsbury
  • Primo Villaneva
  • Jack Ellena
• All-PCC Second Team
  • Sam Boghosian
  • Herdiman Cureton
  • Bob Long
  • Jim Decker
  • Joe Ray
• Honorable Mention
  • John Hermann
  • Terry Debay
  • Gil Moreno
  • John Peterson

UP All-Coast Team

• All-Coast First Team
  • Bob Davenport
  • Jack Ellena
  • Jim Salsbury
  • Primo Villaneva
• All-Coast Second Team
  • Sam Boghosian
  • Herdiman Cureton
  • Bob Heydenfeldt

AP All-Pacific Coast Team

• All-Pacific First Team
  • Bob Davenport
  • Jack Ellena
  • Bob Long
  • Jim Salsbury
• All-Pacific Second Team
  • Sam Boghosian
  • Herdiman Cureton
  • Joe Ray
  • Primo Villaneva

^[45]

1955 NFL Draft

Main article: 1955 NFL draft

	Rnd.	Pick No.	NFL team	Player	Pos.	College	Conf.	Notes
	2	18	Los Angeles Rams	Bob Long	B	UCLA	PCC
	2	24	Detroit Lions	Jim Salsbury	OG	UCLA	PCC
	11	127	Los Angeles Rams	Joe Ray	T	UCLA	PCC

source:^[46][47]

References

1. "2011 UCLA Football Media Guide" (PDF). UCLABruins.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 2, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
2. 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
3. "UCLA Football 2017 Information Guide" (PDF). University of California at Los Angeles. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
4. Hoffman, Jeane (September 19, 1954). "Bruin Grid Players Sport Shoulder Hoops". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 166668400.
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