Official recap
No. 1 ranked Nebraska, seeking its third straight national title, had its 32-game success string abruptly snapped by UCLA in the 1972 opener.
With 67,702 fans packing the LA Coliseum, Efren Herrera kicked a 30-yard field goal with only 22 seconds left in the game to trip the Cornhuskers, 20-17. It was the first loss in 33 games for the Huskers, dating back to the Missouri game in 1969. It also snapped a 23-game winning streak — both marks tops in the nation.
UCLA, pepped by new quarterback Mark Harmon and running back James McAllister, jumped off to a 10-0 lead before the sputtering Huskers got on the board with a 28-yard Rich Sanger field goal. Johnny Rodgers' 11-yard TD run made it 10-10 at halftime, but UCLA refused to fold.
Continued miscues in the second half — Nebraska had four fumbles and two pass interceptions — gave UCLA a solid opportunity, and the Bruins capitalized. A pass interception that was returned to the Husker 15 set up a third-quarter Bruin score, provided on Harmon's two-yard run.
Humm countered by pitching a 44-yard TD pass to Jerry List for a 17-17 tie. However, the Huskers couldn't move in two subsequent possessions and UCLA finally marched from its own 43 to the NU 12 before Efren Herrera kicked the winning field goal.
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UCLA 20
Nebraska 17
Sept. 9, 1972
Los Angeles, CANebraska 0 10 0 7 — 17
UCLA 3 7 7 3 — 20
First Quarter
UCLA — Efren Herrera 27 field goal, 4:26
Second Quarter
UCLA — Brad Lyman 46 pass from Mark Harmon
(Herrera kick), 13:25
NEBR — Rich Sanger 28 field goal, 5:48
NEBR — Johnny Rodgers 11 run (Sanger kick) 2:26
Third Quarter
UCLA — Harmon 2 run (Herrera kick), 7:21
Fourth Quarter
NEBR — Jerry List 44 pass from Dave Humm;
(Sanger kick), 14:01
UCLA — Herrera 30 field goal, 0:22
NU UCLA
First Downs ............ 18 13
Rushing, Net ....... 48-174 61-219
Passing, Net............146 65
Comp-Att-Int ...... 8-21-2 4-8-0
Total Offense ......... 320 284
Punts-Average ...... 2-37.0 7-38.0
Fumbles-Lost .......... 4-3 1-0
LEADING NU RUSHERS: Gary Dixon 15-65, Johnny Rodgers 7-43,
Dave Goeller 6-45, Bill Olds 10-20, Maury Damkroger 6-19
LEADING NU PASSER: Dave Humm, 8 of 21 — 146.
LEADING NU RECEIVERS: Jerry List 3-74, Johnny Rodgers 3-63
NU TOTAL OFFENSE LEADER: Dave Humm — 126.
ATTENDANCE: 67,702
NU OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF GAME: Johnny Rodgers.
NU DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF GAME: Rich Glover.
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