Southern Cal Trojans ©	UCLA Bruins
Played November 18, 1978 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, California

  

 

Teams' Belt Records

 

Team	Belt Reigns	Overall Record				Home Record				Away Record				Neutral Record
		W	L	T	PCT	W	L	T	PCT	W	L	T	PCT	W	L	T	PCT
Southern Cal ©	4	16	3	1	.825	8	1	1	.850	6	2	0	.750	2	0	0	1.000
UCLA	3	13	3	2	.778	6	3	0	.667	6	0	2	.875	1	0	0	1.000

 

The 14^th ranked, 8-2 UCLA Bruins coached by Terry Donahue prepared for the battle for the Victory Bell against their cross-town rival Southern Cal Trojans of coach John Robinson who were 8-1 & ranked 5^th nationally.  The Bruin defense featured All-American S Kenny Easley, All-American LB Jerry Robinson, & All-Pac 10 DT Manu Tuiasosopo but the offense was youthful featuring sophomore RB Freeman McNeil & TE Tim Wrightman as well as All-Pac 10 RB Theotis Brown.  Southern Cal used a stout defense which held UCLA to just 62 yards rushing while QB Paul McDonald threw 2 touchdown passes & All-American RB Charles White helped control the clock as the Trojans retained The Belt with a 17-10 victory.  Southern Cal opened with a 21-yard field goal by PK Frank Jordan.  Early in the 2^nd quarter, McDonald hit WR Calvin Sweeney on a 36-yard touchdown pass giving Southern Cal a 10-0 lead.  On the ensuing kick-off, Brown, who was playing with a pinched nerve in his shoulder, appeared to fumble for a Southern Cal turnover but the play was ruled down allowing the Bruins to keep the ball.  The good fortune lasted only until the next play as Brown fumbled the handoff & Southern Cal's LB Garry Cobb recovered giving the Trojans the ball at the UCLA 17-yard line.  McDonald connected with All-Pac 10 WR Kevin Williams for a 10-yard touchdown pass as the Trojans took a 17-0 lead.  The Bruins drove to the Southern Cal 26-yard line before the half ended but Southern Cal's S Herb Ward intercepted UCLA's QB Rick Bashore to end the threat.  In the 3^rd quarter the team traded punts before Tuiasosopo stripped Trojans' RB Lynn Cain of the ball & UCLA's LB Billy Don Jackson recovered at the Southern Cal 6-yard line.  It appeared that the Bruins had their first touchdown of the game when RB James Owens scored on a 2-yard touchdown run but UCLA was flagged for 12 men on the field & had to settle for a 22-yard field goal from All-Pac 10 PK Peter Boermeester making the score Southern Cal 17 UCLA 3.  In the 4^th quarter, Bashore found WR Severn Reece for an 81-yard touchdown pass & with 5:10 left in the game, the Bruins trailed by just a touchdown at 17-10.  White carried the ball for most of the remaining time including a critical 3^rd & 6 play with just over a minute to play when he gained 12 yards to becoming the Pac-10’s all-time leading rusher.  McDonald finished with 97 yards passing with 2 touchdowns while White rushed for 145 yards.  Bashore threw for 154 yards with a touchdown but an interception while Robinson recorded 21 tackles in the loss.  Southern Cal finished the season 12-1; Pac-10 Champions & ranked 2^nd nationally while the Bruins finished 8-3-1, ranked 14^th nationally.  UCLA would play for The Belt again in 1979.