October 4, 1975
Ohio State at UCLA
Coming off the tie with Air Force a week earlier, the 13th ranked UCLA Bruins of coach Dick Vermeil stood 2-0-1 awaiting Woody Hayes’ 2nd 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 1st 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 2nd 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 3rd 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 3rd quarter. Early in the 4th 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 5th nationally while the Buckeyes finished 11-1, Big Ten Champions & ranked 4th nationally. UCLA would play for The Belt again in 1976.
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