The 1978 Fiesta Bowl was the eighth edition of the college football bowl game, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on Monday, December 25. Part of the 1978–79 bowl game season, it matched the eighth-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks of the Southwest Conference (SWC), and the #15 UCLA Bruins from the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10).[2] The game ended in a 10–10 tie before 55,227 spectators.[3][4][5]
| 1978 Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 8th Annual Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 25, 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Sun Devil Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Tempe, Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | James Owens (UCLA RB) Jimmy Walker (Arkansas DT) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Arkansas by 7 points[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Jimmy Harper (SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 55,227 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$342,562.70 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Curt Gowdy, John Brodie, and Mike Haffner | ||||||||||||||||||||
This was the third of four consecutive Fiesta Bowls played on Christmas Day, and was the first without a team from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), whose champion played in the new Holiday Bowl in San Diego.
Teams
editThis was the first meeting between the two programs.
Arkansas
editWith a win over Texas A&M, Arkansas clinched a Fiesta Bowl berth.[6] Entering the game, Arkansas had come off a 49–7 win over Texas Tech, and was 10–2 overall.[7] The Razorbacks began the season at #2 in the AP poll, but consecutive losses at Texas and at Houston dropped the Razorbacks from SWC title contention. Ron Calcagni led the team at quarterback, while Ben Cowins was the leading rusher for the Hogs. Bruins head coach Terry Donahue said before the game that the UCLA defense would try to slow down an Arkansas rushing attack that "couldn't be stopped."[8]
UCLA
editThe Bruins had been upset at Kansas in September,[9] then won six straight to improve to 8–1. They dropped their final two games, at Oregon State,[10] and to rival USC.[11]
Game summary
editNow televised by NBC, the game kicked off on Christmas Day shortly after 1:30 p.m. MST.[2][12] The Peach Bowl was played earlier in the day on CBS. The NBC telecast was most noted for sideline reporter Mike Haffner inadvertently capturing on his live microphone a two-word expletive uttered by Terry Donahue who was voicing his disapproval over a Bruins interception being nullified due to a penalty. Ironically Haffner and Donohue were roommates at UCLA.[13]
After a scoreless first quarter, Jim Howard sacked UCLA quarterback Steve Bukich, who fumbled, and Arkansas recovered at the UCLA 37. Roland Sales punched it in from four yards out to give the Hogs a 7–0 advantage. The Razorbacks added a field goal from Ish Ordonez, stretching the lead to ten points at halftime.
UCLA took the second half kickoff and drove it for a field goal from Peter Boermaester. Down 10–3, UCLA was set to field a Razorback punt in the fourth quarter. An interference penalty added yardage, giving the Bruins the football at midfield. Severne Reece caught a Bukich pass at the Arkansas 14, and Bukich ran it in on the following play. The Bruins opted not to attempt a two-point conversion, made the kick, and the game was tied at 10–10 with 8:32 remaining. Neither team could get the ball past midfield again, and the tie stood.
Scoring
edit| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Statistics
editStatistics Arkansas UCLA First Downs 19 14 Yards Rushing 51–200 55–255 Yards Passing 78 61 Passing 13–24–2 4–11–2 Return Yards 72 35 Total Offense 75–278 66–316 Punts–Average 8–37 6–41 Fumbles–Lost 2–0 2–1 Turnovers 2 3 Penalties–Yards 4–55 7–67
- Source:[3]
References
edit- ^ "The latest line". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 25, 1978. p. 70.
- ^ a b "Hot Razorbacks face cool Bruins". Spokesman-Review. (Spokesman-Review). Associated Press. December 25, 1978. p. 35.
- ^ a b "Nothing festive about Fiesta, 10-10". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 26, 1977. p. 3B.
- ^ "UCLA, Arkansas battle to 10-10 tie in Fiesta Bowl". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). Associated Press. December 26, 1978. p. 1C.
- ^ "1978 Fiesta Bowl." Game Summary. Archived January 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved January 12, 2011.
- ^ "Arkansas 26, Texas A. & M. 7." Article. The New York Times. November 19, 1978. Retrieved on January 12, 2011.
- ^ "Hogs 'hang loose' for Fiesta Bowl." Article. The Prescott Courier. December 19, 1987. Retrieved on 7 November 2008.
- ^ "UCLA Needs Consistency." Article. The Kingman Daily Miner. December 21, 1987. Retrieved on January 12, 2011.
- ^ "Bruins fall way behind, upset 28-24". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 24, 1978. p. 3C.
- ^ "Walford's FG leads Beavers over Bruins". Spokesman-review. (Spoakne, Washington). Associated Press. November 12, 1978. p. C3.
- ^ "Pac-10: Trojans beat Bruins by the book". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). (Los Angeles Times). November 19, 1978. p. 4B.
- ^ "Bowls don't hurt UCLA recruiting". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Los Angeles Times). December 24, 1978. p. 2B.
- ^ "Two Words From the Coach With Expletives Undeleted," The Associated Press (AP), Monday, December 25, 1978. Retrieved December 7, 2020
External links
edit- Fiesta Bowl – December 25, 1978