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UCLA Bruins © |
Air Force Falcons |
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Played September 27, 1975 at Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, Colorado |
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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 © | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | ||||
| Air Force | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | ||||||||
Previous Belt Meetings: None
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
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UCLA |
7 |
6 |
7 |
0 |
20 |
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Air Force |
0 |
3 |
17 |
0 |
20 |
The Air Force Falcons of coach Ben Martin had their second title shot having lost at Notre Dame in 1973. Air Force came to their first home game with a 0-2 record while the 10th ranked UCLA Bruins were 2-0 under Dick Vermeil. The Falcons appeared to present little problem to the Pac-8 power but UCLA may have been looking ahead to a match-up with Big Ten power Ohio State the following week. UCLA's All-American QB John Sciarra threw 3 interceptions including 1 returned for an Air Force touchdown but RB Wendell Tyler rushed for 142 yards & the Bruins retained The Belt with a 20-20 tie with the Falcons. Air Force could not claim the title since they did not defeat the champion (“To Be The Man, You Have To Beat The Man”). All appeared well for the champions in the 1st quarter when Tyler finished a 7-play, 59-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown run giving the Bruins a 7-0 lead. Midway through the 2nd quarter, Air Force's PK Dave Lawson connected on a 30-yard field goal but the Falcons still trailed 7-3. UCLA responded with a 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive with RB Kenny Lee scoring on a 7-yard touchdown run to give the Bruins a 13-3 halftime edge. The 3rd quarter seemed to belong to the Falcons as they took advantage of Sciarra’s ineffectiveness. Lawson hit a 58-yard field goal early in the quarter making the score UCLA 13 Air Force 6. Falcons’ S Ray Wild intercepted Sciarra’s next pass & returned it 32 yards for a touchdown tying the game at 13-13. Sciarra settled down long enough to drive UCLA 80 yards in 14 plays with RB Theotis Brown scoring on a 7-yard touchdown run. Air Force came back with a 12-play, 77-yard drive with QB Robert Shaw hitting WR Franklin Cox for a 7-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 20-20. Both teams had a chance in the 4th quarter to take the lead but UCLA PK Brett White missed a 44-yard field goal attempt while Lawson missed a 45-yard field goal attempt for the Falcons. Sciarra finished with just 63 yards passing with 3 interceptions but he did rush for 65 yards while Shaw threw for just 87 yards with a touchdown & Lawson added an interception to his 2 successful field goals. UCLA finished the season 9-2-1; Pac-8 Co-Champs & ranked 5th nationally while the Falcons finished 2-8-1. Air Force would play again for The Belt in 1976.
