UCLA

On May 23, 1919 -- after years of fighting to overcome opposition from Northern California -- the people of Los Angeles were awarded a second campus in the University of California system, the first after Cal-Berkeley.  That fall, the University of California at Los Angeles played its first football season.  This makes the Bruins relatively young as college football programs go, but they have had a great amount of success in their history.  Their all-time record is 557-390-37, and they finished in the AP top 5 in 1946, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1965, 1966, 1975, 1982, and 1997.  Ever since the advent of color television, UCLA's powder-blue uniforms have been a glory of the sport.  Plus it is the alma mater of Jackie Robinson, who led UCLA in rushing as a senior before concentrating on baseball.  On the whole, it is a great and proud legacy.

UCLA has also played a huge role in the UCFC.  On September 29, 1939, the Bruins beat TCU 6-2 to end the Lone Star State's dominance of the UCFC and take the title to the Pacific Slope, where it stayed for the rest of the year.  Since then, the UCFC has spent a lot of time out on the Slope.  As a result, the Bruins have played in no less than 64 UCFC games.  The 1954 team, which came closer than any other UCLA team to winning the national title -- they finished 2d in the AP poll -- won the UCFC with a 41-0 victory over Oregon on November 6, and held it through the end of the season.  On January 1, 1976, the Bruins upset Ohio State 23-10 in the Rose Bowl, and held the title until they were beaten by USC on November 20th of that year.  On January 1, 1985, the Bruins won the title with a 39-37 victory over Miami of Florida in the Fiesta Bowl, and then kept the title for much of the 1985 season -- before losing again to USC at the end of the year.  UCLA last held the title in 1993, when they beat Washington on October 16 and defended the crown three times before losing to Arizona State 9-3.  Since then, they have had only three shots at the title, and lost all three.  Their last UCFC game was on December 3, 2005, when USC crushed them 66-19.  But now they will have another chance.