Ohio State Buckeyes	UCLA Bruins ©
Played October 4, 1975 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
Ohio State	1	1	1	0	.500	1	0	0	1.000					0	1	0	.000
UCLA ©	2	3	1	1	.700	2	1	0	.667	1	0	1	.750

 

                          Previous Belt Meetings:       None

 

Coming off the tie with Air Force a week earlier, the 13^th ranked UCLA Bruins of coach Dick Vermeil stood 2-0-1 awaiting Woody Hayes’ 2^nd ranked, 3-0 Ohio State Buckeyes.  Heisman Trophy winning, All-American RB Archie Griffin, Big Ten MVP QB Cornelius Greene & All-American OG Ted Smith, led the Buckeyes.  Griffin rushed for 160 yards with a touchdown while Greene rushed for 120 yards with 2 touchdowns as Ohio State dominated the 1^st half & held on to claim their second Belt reign with a 41-20 win.  UCLA opened the scoring after LB Ray Burks recovered a fumble by Griffin at the UCLA 27-yard line.  The Bruins drove 73 yards in 7 plays with All-American QB John Sciarra throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass to WR James Sarpy.  The Buckeyes responded with a 10-play, 92-yard drive highlighted by 2 runs by Greene for a total of 50 yards.  Greene carried the final 2 yards to tie the game at 7-7 but during the extra-point attempt, UCLA was called for a personal foul that was assessed on the kick-off.  Kicking off from the UCLA 45-yard line, Ohio State's P Tom Skladany recovered the on-side kick at the UCLA 34-yard line.  The Buckeyes were in the end zone in 6 plays with RB Pete Johnson scoring the touchdown on a 3-yard run.  On the next Ohio State possession, Johnson finished a 10-play, 65-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run giving the Buckeyes a 21-7 lead.  Ohio State finished the half with an 11-play, 61-yard drive that took just 1:47 with Greene scoring on a 17-yard touchdown run for a 28-7 lead with 0:29 left in the half.  Griffin scored on the Buckeyes’ opening possession of the 2^nd half on a 17-yard touchdown run as Ohio State extended the lead to 35-7.  Ohio State's PK Tom Klaban’s 34-yard field goal with 4:22 left in the 3^rd quarter gave the Buckeyes a 38-7 lead before UCLA started a rally.  Sciarra’s 38-yard pass to Sarpy seemed to spark the Bruins as the drove 80 yards in 10 plays with RB Eddie Ayers scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run making the score Ohio State 38 UCLA 14 at the end of the 3^rd quarter.  Early in the 4^th quarter, UCLA recovered a fumble by Greene at the Buckeyes’ 22-yard line.  Ayers 1-yard touchdown run finished the drive as the Bruins closed to 38-20.  UCLA's CB Barney Parson intercepted Greene at the Ohio State 37-yard line as the Bruins continued the rally.  They moved to the Ohio State 7-yard line before turning the ball over on downs but a short punt by the Buckeyes gave the Bruins the ball again at the Ohio State 44-yard line with just under 7 minutes to play.  Ohio State's LB Ken Kuhn intercepted Sciarra at the Ohio State 31-yard line & the Buckeyes drove for a 42-yard field goal by Klaban to squelch the rally.  Greene finished with 98 yards passing with an interception while Sciarra threw for 134 yards with a touchdown but 2 interceptions.  The Bruins finished the season 9-2-1; Pac-8 Co-Champs & ranked 5^th nationally while the Buckeyes finished 11-1, Big Ten Champions & ranked 4^th nationally.  UCLA would play for The Belt again in 1976.