Stanford Cardinal	Southern Cal Trojans ©
Played October 13, 1979 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
Stanford	0	0	1	0	.000					0	1	0	.000
Southern Cal ©	4	25	3	1	.879	11	1	1	.885	11	2	0	.846	3	0	0	1.000

 

                          Previous Belt Meetings:       None

 

 

The top-ranked, 5-0 Southern Cal Trojans of coach John Robinson came to this game with a 13-game winning streak & an eye on their annual battle with the Fighting Irish the following week.  The 3-2 Stanford Cardinal of coach Rod Dowhower had other ideas.  Southern Cal dominated the 1^st half taking a 21-0 lead before Stanford rallied for 3 touchdowns in the final 25 minutes to gain a 21-21 tie but Southern Cal retained The Belt (“To Be The Man, You Have To Beat The Man”).  The Trojans took the lead on their opening drive as Heisman Trophy winning, All-American RB Charles White finished a 7-play, 72-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run.  In the 2^nd quarter Southern Cal's CB Herb Ward recovered a fumble from Stanford's RB Mike Dotterer at the Stanford 49-yard line.  White’s 1-yard touchdown run finished the 9-play drive & gave the Trojans a 14-0 lead.  Moments later, Ward intercepted Stanford's QB John Elway at the Stanford 26-yard line setting up Southern Cal's RB Marcus Allen’s 15-yard touchdown run giving the Trojans a 21-0 lead with 8:38 left in the half.  The Trojans had scored their 3 touchdowns in 21 minutes & seemed to be in position to roll-up a big win.  In the 3^rd quarter, the roles reversed as the Cardinal started to make all the key plays & get the critical bounces.  Stanford drove 80 yards in 13 plays helped by a pass interference penalty called against Ward on a 3^rd down & 3.  The penalty kept the drive alive & QB Turk Schonert eventually found Dotterer on a 19-yard touchdown pass making the score Southern Cal 21 Stanford 7.  Late in the quarter, Stanford's LB Terry Rennaker recovered White’s fumble at the Stanford 39-yard line.  The Cardinal converted 2 fourth down plays on the drive before Schonert threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to All-American WR Ken Margerum to get Stanford within a touchdown at 21-14.  After Southern Cal punted giving Stanford the ball at their own 13-yard line, the Cardinal drove 87 yards in 16 plays with Schonert carrying the final 10 yards for the touchdown which tied the game at 21-21.  The drive was kept alive by another critical 4^th down conversion from the Trojans' 11-yard when Dotterer fumbled a pitch needing just a yard to keep the drive alive but the Cardinal's running back recovered the ball, reversed his field, & gained enough to move the chains giving Schonert the chance to tie the game.  The Cardinal had scored their 3 touchdowns in 25:27 but with 4:33 left in the game both teams still had chances for the win.  Stanford's CB Rick Parker intercepted Southern Cal’s All-Pac 10 QB Paul McDonald at midfield.  The Cardinal drove to the Southern Cal 29-yard line before Schonert was sacked for a loss & All-Pac 10 PK Ken Naber missed a 53-yard field goal attempt.  With 0:43 left, the Trojans moved from their 36-yard line to the Stanford 31-yard line.  On the next play, Stanford's LB Craig Zellmer was called for pass interference giving the Trojans the ball at the Stanford 23-yard line with 0:03 to play.  Southern Cal's PK Eric Hipp, who had missed a 24-yard field goal in the 1^st half, came in to attempt a 39-yard field goal but CB Jeff Fisher holding for the kick bobbled the snap & the kick was blocked by Stanford's WR Gordon Banks as time expired leaving the game tied.  McDonald finished with 67 yards passing with 2 interceptions while White rushed for 221 yards with his 2 touchdowns.  Schonert threw for 163 yards with 2 touchdowns & Margerum had 6 catches for 104 yards with his score.  Southern Cal finished the season 11-0-1; Pac-10 Champions & ranked 2^nd nationally while the Cardinal finished 5-5-1 in Dowhower’s only season as coach.  Stanford would play for The Belt again in 1980.