The 1978 Fiesta Bowl was a post-season college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 bowl game

Bowl game

In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...

 between the #8 Arkansas Razorbacks from the Southwest Conference, and the #15 from the Pacific-10 Conference. The game ended in a 10-10 tie before 55,227 spectators.

Arkansas

With a win over Texas A&M, Arkansas clinched a Fiesta Bowl berth. Entering the game, Arkansas had come off a 49-7 win over Texas Tech, and was 10-2 overall. The Razorbacks began the season at #2 in the AP poll, but consecutive losses at Texas and at Houston dropped the Razorbacks from SWC title contention. Ron Calcagni

Ron Calcagni

Ron Calcagni is a former quarterback for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks football team from 1975 to 1978. Calcagni was born in Youngstown, Ohio. An All-State in high school, Calcagni was initially recruited by Bo Rein to play for North Carolina State University...

 led the team at quarterback, while Ben Cowins

Ben Cowins

Ben Cowins is a former college football running back who played for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks from 1975-1978. He was the University of Arkansas all-time leader in rushing attempts , rushing yards , rushing touchdowns and 100-yard rushing games prior to all his team records being...

 was the leading rusher for the Hogs. Bruins head coach Terry Donahue

Terry Donahue

Terry Donahue is a former American football, player, coach, and executive and, currently, a football analyst. He served as the head football coach at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1976 to 1995, compiling a record of 151–74–8. From 2001 to 2005, Donahue served as...

said before the game that the UCLA defense would try to slow down an Arkansas rushing attack that "couldn't be stopped".

Game summary

Jim Howard sacked UCLA QB Steve Bukich, but he fumbled, and Arkansas recovered at the UCLA 37. Roland Sales would punch it in from four yards out to give the Hogs a 7-0 advantage. The Razorbacks added a field goal from Ish Ordonez, stretching the lead to 10. UCLA took the second half kickoff and drove it for a field goal from Peter Boermaester. Down 10-3, UCLA was set to field a Razorback punt in the fourth quarter. An interference penalty added yardage, giving the Bruins the football at midfield. Severne Reece caught a Bukich pass at the Hog 14, and Bukich would rush it in on the following play. The game was tied at 10-10 with 8:32. Neither team could get the ball past midfield again, and the tie stood.