1941 UCLA Bruins football team

The 1941 UCLA Bruins football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1941 college football season. In their third season under head coach Edwin C. Horrell, the Bruins compiled a 5–5–1 record (3–4–1 against PCC opponents), finished fifth in the PCC, and were outscored by a total of 178 to 128.^[1]

1941 UCLA Bruins football
Conference	Pacific Coast Conference
Record	5–5–1 (3–4–1 PCC)
Head coach	Edwin C. Horrell (3rd season)
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons ← 1940 1942 →

1941 Pacific Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 12 Oregon State $	7	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Washington	5	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
No. 19 Washington State	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Stanford	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Oregon	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
UCLA	3	–	4	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
California	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
USC	2	–	4	–	1			2	–	6	–	1
Montana	1	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Idaho	0	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Quarterback Bob Waterfield later played for the Los Angeles Rams and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Other key players included Clarence Mackey, a transfer player from Compton Junior College.

UCLA was ranked at No. 77 (out of 681 teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score System for 1941.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 26	Washington State	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 7–6	45,000	[3]
October 4	at Stanford	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	L 0–33	40,000	[4][5]
October 10	Montana	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 14–7	20,000	[6]
October 18	at Washington	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 7–14	18,000	[7]
October 25	No. 16 Oregon	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 14–7	30,000	[8]
November 1	California	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	L 7–27	50,000	[9]
November 8	at Oregon State	Bell Field Corvallis, OR	L 0–19	10,000	[10]
November 15	Camp Haan[11]*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 29–0	15,000	[12]
November 22	Santa Clara*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 13–31	25,000	[13]
December 6	USC	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	T 7–7	60,000	[14]
December 20	at Florida*	Fairfield Stadium Jacksonville, FL	W 30–27	8,000	[15]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[16]

Game summaries

USC

	1	2	3	4	Total
UCLA	0	0	7	0	7
USC	0	0	7	0	7

Bob Waterfield lateraled to Vic Smith for a 12-yard touchdown in the third quarter to put the Bruins on the scoreboard first. Bobby Robertson scored from the 1-yard line for USC.

1941 NFL draft

The following players were claimed in the 1941 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Jack Sommers	Center	11	92	Chicago Cardinals
Alex Schibanoff	Tackle	14	125	Detroit Lions

^[17]