Posted
9/22/25

 



A Look at the NU-UCLA Series



 Here is the third of HTP's four planned posts this season taking a look at an opponent that NU has played in the past, but not very recently (the fourth and final post will preview the USC game).

UCLA and the Wildcats have a series that stretches back to 1931. Of the six times the teams played before UCLA joined the Big Ten, NU won the first three. The Bruins won the last three, including the 2005 Sun Bowl.
 

UCLA at Dyche Stadium-- Saturday, October 17, 1931
Northwestern's first game with UCLA was the Wildcats' first-ever game with a West Coast school. UCLA had only begun playing organized football three years before its trip to Evanston, and the team had not yet enjoyed a winning season-- it would have to wait until 1932 to get past that hump.

NU, on the other hand, was coming off a Big Ten title and was on its way to winning its second straight championship. The 'Cats opened the season by beating Nebraska and tying Notre Dame at Soldier Field.

About 30,000 fans were expected for the game, which followed a pre-game scrimmage between the NU and Notre Dame scrubs. 35,000 eventually showed up for both games.

UCLA, sporting orange jerseys, squared off against many of the same scrubs who had just played the Irish reserves: NU Coach Dick Hanley rested his A squad at the start of the game. It didn't matter-- NU coasted to an easy 19-0 win.

NU takes on UCLA at Dyche in 1931. Chicago Trib Photo.

UCLA at Dyche Stadium-- Saturday, October 4, 1947


Northwestern's football fortunes had turned when it hosted UCLA again in 1947-- the first of a two-game home-and-home series with the Bruins. The 'Cats were on the road to a lackluster 3-6 season; however, one of those three wins would come at UCLA's expense.

This one was considered a bit of an upset. The previous week, UCLA had stung Iowa, 22-7, and the Bruins would eventually put together a winning season. But their trip to Evanston would come with a loss-- a very close one.

44,000 people, a near sellout, watched as the Bruins scraped together a 26-20 lead and appeared to be heading to a win. NU quarterback Jim Farrar  threw a desparation pass to Jules Siegle, a fourth-string halfback. Siegle caught the pass and raced 33 yards for the touchdown. Farrar's PAT kick gave NU the winning point.


NU at UCLA-- Saturday, September 25, 1948


The second game in NU and UCLA's 1947-'48 series featured a restocked and talented Wildcat team. The trip to UCLA was only its second-ever trip to the West Coast. No one knew it at the time, but the 'Cats would make their third trip that same season-- to play in the 1949 Rose Bowl.

This game was never in doubt and ended with the same 19-0 score that the '31 game did. 55,156 people watched as NU halfback Frank Aschenbrenner led the 'Cats on the ground. Quarterback Don Burson tore UCLA apart through the air, making a 46-yard pass to Joe Zuravleff for a touchdown. NU ended up outgunning UCLA 348 yards to 33.


UCLA at Dyche Stadium-- Saturday, October 4, 1969
After a two-decade hiatus, NU and UCLA played another home-and-home series, beginning in 1969. While the 'Cats were OK in '69, they faced a nearly flawless Bruin squad that would eventually go 8-1-1 for the season.

The Bruins proved far too much for NU, spanking the 'Cats 36-0. 41,615 fans watched NU sink to a 10-0 deficit by halftime. But the third quarter put the game away for UCLA.

Linebacker Joel Hall swats down a
UCLA pass.


NU at UCLA-- Saturday, September 26, 1970


NU lost its second straight to the Bruins at the Rose Bowl in a close, 12 to 7 struggle.

The game started as a potential NU upset: the 'Cats struck first. Quarterback Maurie Daigneau scored a touchdown from the nine-yard line in the first quarter, and NU led 7-6 going into the fourth quarter. With less than three minutes to play, UCLA launched a 53-yard touchdown pass to seal the win.


NU vs. UCLA-- Sun Bowl, Friday, December 30, 2005
Twenty-two points?

That was the lead Northwestern found itself owning, and then wasting, as the 'Cats went on to fall to UCLA in the 2005 Sun Bowl, 50-38.  The game was Northwestern's fifth straight bowl loss.

To put NU's 22-0 start, and eventual loss, in perspective: no Northwestern football team, in the program's illustrious 129-year history, had ever come back from a deficit of 22 or more points to win a game. But the Bruins did just that, thanks in part to a stunning turnaround for UCLA quarterback Drew Olson and a dramatic performance by Bruin running back Chris Markey.

The bitter loss was an unfortunate end to a fantastic season for NU-- the 'Cats had managed to string three seasons in a row with at least six wins (for the first time since 1931). And, of course, the game was the final appearance on the field for NU head coach Randy Walker.