September 7, 1985
UCLA at Brigham Young
Coach Terry Donahue’s 1985 UCLA Bruins were ranked 20th nationally as they opened the season against the 8th ranked, 1-0 Brigham Young Cougars of Lavell Edwards who were carrying a 25-game winning streak. Brigham Young had won the National Championship in 1984 amidst great controversy for the schedule they had played. This was their chance to take The Belt & quiet some of the critics. Each team scored a touchdown in the final 3:00 but UCLA’s RB Gaston Green scored last on a 2-yard run set-up by a 62-yard pass from back-up QB Matt Stevens to WR Mike Sherrard as the Bruins retained The Belt with a 27-24 come from behind upset of the Cougars. Early in the 1st quarter, UCLA’s CB Chuckie Miller blocked a Brigham Young punt giving the Bruins the ball at the Brigham Young 15-yard line. UCLA could not get into the end zone but All-American PK John Lee kicked a 25-yard field goal which gave the Bruins a 3-0 lead. The Cougars responded with an 73-yard drive which stalled at the UCLA 7-yard line where Brigham Young’s PK Gary Webster hit a 24-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3. After forcing a UCLA punt which gave the Cougars the ball at the UCLA 48-yard line, Brigham Young set-up for first play of the drive but UCLA’s S Craig Rutledge intercepted Brigham Young’s QB Robbie Bosco & returned it 65 yards for a touchdown giving the Bruins a 10-3 lead heading into the 2nd quarter. The Cougars responded with a 7-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass from Bosco to All-WAC WR Mark Bellini to tie the game at 10-10. The highlight of the drive was a short pass to RB Vai Sikahema which he took for a 47-yard gain to the UCLA 32-yard line. The Bruins got 35-yard field goal from Lee midway through the 2nd quarter before Bosco drove the Cougars 80 yards again, hitting WR Glen Kozlowski on a 7-yard touchdown pass giving Brigham Young a 17-13 lead with 3:29 left in the half. UCLA had another chance to score in the 1st half when Sikahema fumbled a punt & the Bruins recovered at the Brigham Young 28-yard line but Brigham Young’s CB Rodney Thomas intercepted UCLA’s QB David Norrie in the end zone; the score stayed 17-13 at the half. Stevens replaced the ineffective Norrie after the first series in the 2nd half & the Bruins got another field goal from Lee, this one from 20 yards, to close the gap to a point at 17-16 but the real success of the 3rd quarter seemed the be the UCLA defense kept the Brigham Young offense off the scoreboard. Lee hit a 25-yard field goal with 8:01 left to play which put the Bruins ahead 19-17 but the Cougars’ offense was not done. Brigham Young took 14 plays to drive 80 yards highlighted by a 22-yard completion to Kozlowski on a 3rd & 19 play from the Brigham Young 26-yard line. The touchdown came on a controversial 1-yard touchdown run by Bosco which television replays appeared to show his knee was down before the ball had crossed the plane of the end zone but the call stood & Brigham Young had what appeared to be a 24-19 come from behind win with 2:54 left. On the next play from scrimmage, Stevens hit Sherrard for the 62-yard gain to the Brigham Young 22-yard line & 5 plays later, Green scored on a 2-yard run with 1:02 left in the game. The successful 2-point conversion on another Green run put the Bruins up 27-24 but the Cougars had a last chance. On the first play after the kick-off, UCLA’s CB Marcus Turner intercepted Bosco to end the Cougars’ winning streak. Stevens finished with 117 yards passing & Sherrard had 6 catches for 102 yards. Bosco threw for 340 yards with 2 touchdowns but 2 interceptions while Sikahema had 8 catches for 129 yards in the loss. UCLA finished the season 9-2-1; Pac-10 Champions & ranked 7th nationally while the Cougars finished 11-3, WAC Co-Champs & ranked 16th nationally. Brigham Young would play for The Belt again in 1995.
Leave a Reply