1978 Fiesta Bowl

The 1978 Fiesta Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the #8 Arkansas Razorbacks from the Southwest Conference, and the #15 UCLA Bruins from the Pacific-10 Conference. The game ended in a 10–10 tie before 55,227 spectators.^[1]

Setting

Arkansas

With a win over Texas A&M, Arkansas clinched a Fiesta Bowl berth.^[2] Entering the game, Arkansas had come off a 49-7 win over Texas Tech, and was 10-2 overall.^[3] 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".^[4]

UCLA

Game summary

Jim Howard sacked UCLA QB Steve Bukich, but he fumbled, and Arkansas recovered at the UCLA 37. Roland Sales would punch 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 10. 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 Hog 14, and Bukich would rush it in on the following play. The game was tied at 10-10 with 8:32. Neither team could get the ball past midfield again, and the tie stood.

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	ARK	UCLA
2			37	10	ARK	Roland Sales 4-yard touchdown run, Ish Ordonez kick good	7	0
2			50	8	ARK	37-yard field goal by Ish Ordonez	10	0
3	7:19		56	15	UCLA	4-yard field goal by Peter Boermaester	10	3
4	8:32		51	5	UCLA	Steve Bukich 15-yard touchdown run, Peter Boermaester kick good	10	10
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							10	10

Statistics

Statistics	UCLA	Arkansas
First Downs	14	19
Total offense, plays – yards	59-316	64-278
Rushes-yards (net)	55-255	51-200
Passing yards (net)	61	78
Passes, Comp-Att-Int	4-11-2	13-24-2

References

^ "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.

[1] "1978 Fiesta Bowl." Game Summary. Archived January 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved January 12, 2011.

[2] "Arkansas 26, Texas A. & M. 7." Article. The New York Times. November 19, 1978. Retrieved on January 12, 2011.

[3] "Hogs 'hang loose' for Fiesta Bowl." Article. The Prescott Courier. December 19, 1987. Retrieved on 7 November 2008.

[4] "UCLA Needs Consistency." Article. The Kingman Daily Miner. December 21, 1987. Retrieved on January 12, 2011.

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Notes	The game was also the national title game for either the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series in 1996, 1999, and 2003. There was a Fiesta Bowl in January and December in 1997, 2014, 2016, 2019, and 2022. Bold indicates College Football Playoff semifinals.