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UCLA Bruins © |
Arizona State Sun Devils |
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Played September 9, 1976 at Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona |
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Teams' Belt Records
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Team |
Belt Reigns |
Overall Record |
Home Record |
Away Record |
Neutral Record |
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W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
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| UCLA © | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | .643 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .750 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Arizona State | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Previous Belt Meetings: None
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
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UCLA |
0 |
14 |
14 |
0 |
28 |
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Arizona State |
3 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
10 |
For the first time in Belt history, a defending champion had a new coach in the midst of their reign. Dick Vermeil left UCLA for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles after the 1976 Rose Bowl & Terry Donahue had the responsibility of leading the 17th ranked Bruins in defense of The Belt. The 3rd ranked Arizona State Sun Devils, coached by Frank Kush, were still members of the WAC & riding a 17-game winning streak. UCLA's QB Jeff Dankworth & All-Pac 8 RB Theotis Brown each rushed for 2 touchdowns as the Bruins rushed for 486 yards in a 28-10 win over the Sun Devils to retain The Belt. Arizona State scored the only points of the 1st quarter after Sun Devils' DE Willie Scroggins recovered a fumble by Brown giving Arizona State the ball at the UCLA 39-yard line. Six plays later, Arizona State's PK Dan Kush kicked a 29-yard field goal giving the Sun Devils a 3-0 lead. The Bruins scored just 40 seconds into the 2nd quarter as Dankworth finished a 9-play, 80-yard drive with a 32-yard touchdown run giving UCLA a 7-3 advantage. Late in the quarter, UCLA put together another 80-yard scoring drive; this one covered 12 plays & was highlighted by a 35-yard run by Brown. Dankworth finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with just 0:07 left in the half giving the Bruins a 14-3 halftime lead. Midway though the 3rd quarter, Arizona State's RB Fred Williams fumbled at the Bruins’ 21-yard line & UCLA All-Pac 8 CB Levi Armstrong recovered the ball. The Bruins drove the 79 yards in 8 plays with Brown scoring the touchdown on a 2-yard run giving UCLA a 21-3 lead. Late in the quarter, UCLA's S Harold Hardin intercepted Arizona State's QB Fred Mortensen at the Bruins 40-yard line. Brown’s second touchdown came 5 plays later on a 26-yard run putting UCLA ahead 28-3 entering the final quarter. Arizona State’s only touchdown came midway through the 4th quarter when QB Dennis Sproul connected with WR John Jefferson on a 15-yard touchdown pass. Dankworth finished with just 23 yards passing completing 3 of 4 passes but he rushed for 155 yards with 2 touchdowns while Brown added 127 yards rushing to his 2 scores. Sproul threw for 139 yards with a touchdown in the loss. UCLA finished the season 9-2-1; ranked 15th nationally while the Sun Devils finished 4-7. Arizona State would play again for The Belt in 1978.
