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This Date in College Football Belt History – November 9
After losing The Belt earlier in the season to Washington, the 14th ranked, 6-1-1 UCLA Bruins of Terry Donahue traveled to Tucson to try & claim it from the 6-2 Arizona Wildcats of coach Larry Smith. UCLA’s RB Gaston Green scored 3 touchdowns & the Bruins withstood a 4th quarter rally by the Wildcats to take The Belt back to California with a 24-19 win. UCLA scored midway through the 1st quarter on a 27-yard drive that was set-up by a mishandled snap on a punt attempt. Green scored on a 7-yard touchdown run giving the Bruins a 7-0 lead. Midway through the 2nd quarter, UCLA drove 53 yards in 9 plays with Green again scoring on a 7-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 Bruins’ lead. UCLA’s All-American PK John Lee hit a 39-yard field goal with 2:38 left in the half & the Bruins took a 17-0 lead to intermission after having held the Arizona offense to just 26 total yards in the half. Midway through the 3rd quarter, Arizona’s special teams set-up the Wildcats’ first score when S Chuck Cecil blocked a punt out of bounds at the UCLA 7-yard line. The Wildcats scored two plays later when RB James DeBow carried in from 2 yards making the score UCLA 17 Arizona 7 with 7:21 left in the 3rd quarter. The Bruins responded with a 9-play, 80-yard drive that was highlighted by a 3rd & 9 play from the UCLA 44-yard line. As QB David Norrie scrambled to find an open receiver he saw WR Karl Dorrell. After Dorrell made the catch he was hit at the Arizona 20-yard line & fumbled the ball forward. It appeared Arizona would recover the ball as 4 Wildcats’ defenders closed in but Green got into the pile & covered the ball for the Bruins at the Arizona 4-yard line. Two plays later, Green’s 1-yard touchdown run put UCLA ahead 24-7 with 3:53 left in the 3rd quarter. In the 4th quarter it appeared the Bruins had thwarted a Wildcat scoring drive when UCLA’s CB Dennis Price intercepted Arizona’s QB Alfred Jenkins at the UCLA 10-yard line. After returning the pick 14 yards, Price fumbled & DeBow recovered for the Wildcats at the UCLA 24-yard line giving Arizona a new set of downs. Arizona drove for the touchdown in 5 plays with DeBow scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run. The missed 2-point conversion attempt left the Wildcats trailing 24-13 with 7:05 left to play. The Bruins recovered the on-side kick & ran almost 4 minutes off the clock before Norrie made a mistake that led to another Arizona score. On first down from the Arizona 29-yard line with 3:18 left, Norrie decided to try a pass but the Wildcats’ rush was on him quickly & he tried to throw the ball while being tackled. Arizona’s DT Dana Wells caught the ball & ran 61 yards for a touchdown but the missed 2-point conversion attempt still had the Bruins in front at 24-19. UCLA managed to hang on to the ball the rest of the way to secure the win. Norrie threw for 162 yards with 2 interceptions while Jenkins threw for 102 yards with an interception in the loss. The Wildcats finished the season 8-3-1 while the Bruins finished 9-2-1, Pac-10 Champions & ranked 7th nationally. Arizona would play for The Belt again in 1990.
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