1978 Fiesta Bowl

American college football game December 2025 August 2023 Fiesta Bowl 8th Fiesta Bowl 1978 1978 December 25 Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona UCLA Bruins 8–3 Pac-10 Terry Donahue 15 16 0 0 3 7 Arkansas Razorbacks 9–2 SWC Lou Holtz 8 10 0 10 0 0 55,227 Sun Devil Stadium.jpg Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, hosted the Fiesta Bowl. 342,562.70 Arkansas by 7 pointshttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-w5ZAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Mm0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4324%2C3572518 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The latest line December 25, 1978 70 James Owens (UCLA RB)Jimmy Walker (Arkansas DT) Jimmy Harper (SEC) NBC Curt Gowdy, John Brodie,and Mike Haffner 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).https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qfdLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Du4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5088%2C3938027 Spokesman-Review Spokesman-Review Associated Press Hot Razorbacks face cool Bruins December 25, 1978 35 The game ended in a 10–10 tie before 55,227 spectators.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wRRWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=B-IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6712%2C8325791 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Nothing festive about Fiesta, 10-10 December 26, 1977 3Bhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NLssAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NBMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3212%2C5898101 Wilmington Morning Star North Carolina Associated Press UCLA, Arkansas battle to 10-10 tie in Fiesta Bowl December 26, 1978 1C"1978 Fiesta Bowl." Game Summary. https://web.archive.org/web/20090106034102/http://www.fiestabowl.org/index.php/tostitos/history_display/8th_annual_fiesta_bowl January 6, 2009 Retrieved January 12, 2011. 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 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season This was the first meeting between the two programs. Arkansas 1978 Arkansas Razorbacks football team With a win over Texas A&M, Arkansas clinched a Fiesta Bowl berth."Arkansas 26, Texas A. & M. 7." Article. The New York Times. November 19, 1978. Retrieved on January 12, 2011. Entering the game, Arkansas had come off a 49–7 win over Texas Tech, and was 10–2 overall."Hogs 'hang loose' for Fiesta Bowl." Article. The Prescott Courier. December 19, 1987. Retrieved on 7 November 2008. 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.""UCLA Needs Consistency." Article. The Kingman Daily Miner. December 21, 1987. Retrieved on January 12, 2011. UCLA 1978 UCLA Bruins football The Bruins had been upset at Kansas in September,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zPlVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CuIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6672%2C7132749 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Bruins fall way behind, upset 28-24 September 24, 1978 3C then won six straight to improve to 8–1. They dropped their final two games, at Oregon State,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SPZLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8-0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6788%2C5738833 Spokesman-review Spoakne, Washington Associated Press Walford's FG leads Beavers over Bruins November 12, 1978 C3 and to rival USC.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7steAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nzIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5183%2C7336246 Lewiston Morning Tribune Idaho (Los Angeles Times) Pac-10: Trojans beat Bruins by the book November 19, 1978 4B Game summary Now televised by NBC, the game kicked off on Christmas Day shortly after 1:30 p.m. MST.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vxRWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=B-IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6566%2C7700546 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon (Los Angeles Times) Bowls don't hurt UCLA recruiting December 24, 1978 2B 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."Two Words From the Coach With Expletives Undeleted," The Associated Press (AP), Monday, December 25, 1978. Retrieved December 7, 2020 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 ARK UCLA collapsed 2 ARK 37 10 RushTD 4 Roland Sales good Ish Ordonez 7 0 2 ARK 50 8 FG 37 Ish Ordonez 10 0 3 7:19 UCLA 56 15 FG 4 Peter Boermaester 10 3 4 8:32 UCLA 51 5 RushTD 15 Steve Bukich good Peter Boermaester 10 10 10 10 Statistics {| class=wikitable style="text-align:center" ! Statistics !! Arkansas !! 4UCLA4 |- | 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: References External links Fiesta Bowl – December 25, 1978 Fiesta Bowl Category:Fiesta Bowl Category:Arkansas Razorbacks football bowl games Category:UCLA Bruins football bowl games Category:December 1978 sports events in the United States Category:1978 in sports in Arizona