The 1997 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. They played their home games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California and were coached by Bob Toledo. It was Toledo's second season as the UCLA head coach. The Bruins finished 10–2 overall, and were Pacific-10 Conference co-champions with a 7–1 record. The Bruins were invited to play in the Cotton Bowl Classic against Texas A&M on January 1, 1998. Though the Bruins were down 16–7 at the half, Cade McNown, the offensive MVP of the game, led the team to a 29–23 victory. The team was ranked #5 in the final AP Poll and #5 in the final Coaches' Poll.
Pre-season
Schedule
Roster
Game summaries
At Washington State
No. 3 Tennessee
*Source: Box score
At Texas
Arizona
Houston
At Oregon
Oregon State
California
At Stanford
Washington
At USC
The Bruins retained the Victory Bell for the seventh straight year.
Vs. Texas A&M Aggies (Cotton Bowl Classic)
Rankings
Awards and honors
Skip Hicks, Chad Overhauser, and Chris Sailer were selected to the 1997 College Football All-America Team.
1998 NFL Draft
The following players were selected in the 1998 NFL Draft.