September 14, 1985
UCLA at Tennessee
The 10th ranked, 1-0 UCLA Bruins with coach Terry Donahue traveled to Knoxville to renew their rivalry with the Tennessee Volunteers coached by Johnny Majors in their season opener. UCLA’s back-up QB David Norrie led 2 touchdown drives, with each ending in a successful 2-point conversion, in the final 5 minutes as the Bruins tied the Volunteers 26-26 but UCLA retained The Belt (“To Be The Man, You Have To Beat The Man”). The Bruins looked like the dominant team early as RB Gaston Green took the handoff on the third play of the game & raced 72 yards for a touchdown. UCLA’s All-American PK John Lee made the score 10-0 when he hit a 39-yard field goal. Tennessee got on the board in the 2nd quarter when All-SEC PK Carlos Reveiz kicked a 49-yard field goal & the Volunteers tied the game at 10-10 when QB Tony Robinson hit TE Tim Hendrix for a 4-yard touchdown pass. Tennessee’s All-SEC S Chris White intercepted UCLA’s QB Matt Stevens before the Volunteers got a 33-yard field goal from Reveiz. White intercepted Stevens a second time as the half ended with Tennessee leading 13-10. On the third play of the 2nd half, Robinson connected with WR Joey Clinkscales for a 68-yard touchdown pass and the Volunteers pushed the lead to 20-10. On the first play of the 4th quarter, Raveiz made a 31-yard field goal & 3 minutes later kicked a 40-yard field goal making the score 26-10. Norrie took over for the ineffective Stevens & White made his third interception of the day to end the UCLA drive. The Bruins got the ball back at their own 3-yard line & faced a 3rd & 10 when Norrie found WR Mike Sherrard for a 44-yard gain that changed the momentum of the game. Norrie finished the 8-play, 97-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to WR Al Wilson with 4:46 left in the game. The 2-point conversion pass to TE Jeff Nowinski made the score Tennessee 26 UCLA 18. UCLA got the ball back at their own 27-yard line with 1:43 left & only 1 timeout available. The Bruins drove the 73 yards in 9 plays with Norrie throwing to WR Willie “Flipper” Anderson for a 25-yard touchdown pass with just 0:37 left to play. Green carried around right end for the 2-point conversion that tied the game. Norrie threw for 138 yards with 2 touchdowns, Green added 194 yards rushing to his touchdown, & Sherrard had 7 catches for 170 yards. Robinson threw for a Tennessee school-record 387 yards with 2 touchdowns, All-American WR Tim McGee had 5 catches for 142 yards, & Clinkscales had 4 catches for 106 yards with his touchdown. UCLA finished the season 9-2-1; Pac-10 Champions & ranked 7th nationally while the Volunteers finished 9-1-2, SEC Champions & ranked 4th nationally. Tennessee would play for The Belt again in 1986.
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