DALLAS -- The UCLA Bruins won a record seventh straight bowl game Monday by the simplest manner possible. They wouldn't let the Arkansas Razorbacks have the ball.
UCLA dominated Arkansas on offense, on defense and on the clock in the 53rd Cotton Bowl.
The final score of 17-3 did not come close to telling how much better UCLA was than Arkansas on a unseasonably mild afternoon in which a stadium full of Razorback fans watched their team fall flat under the Bruins steamroller.
'I did not think our defense could dominate like it did,' said UCLA coach Terry Donahue.
'I did not think we could run the ball like we did,' added quarterback Troy Aikman.
'I didn't think anybody could dominate us like they did,' summed up Arkansas coach Ken Hatfield.
UCLA controlled the ball for 42:43 of the game to 17:17 for Arkansas. Arkansas made four meager first downs and gained a woeful 42 total yards -- the lowest figure in the 95-year history of the school's football program.
Aikman, meanwhile, shook off the distractions brought on by his anticipated association with the Dallas Cowboys by completing 19 of 27 passes for 172 yards while freshman running back Shawn Wills gained 120 yards on 18 carries.
At one point, the Bruins converted 12 straight third-down tries.
UCLA drove the ball 93 and 74 yards in the second quarter to score on a 1-yard run by Mark Estwick and a 1-yard pass from Aikman to tight end Corwin Anthony.
The Bruins scored only once in the second half -- on a fourth-quarter field goal of 32 yards by Alfredo Velasco -- even though they dominated just as much as they did in the first half.
UCLA's only score came on a 49-yard field goal in the third quarter by Kendall Trainor, the second longest field goal in Cotton Bowl history. That score came on the only occasion in which Arkansas had the ball in the Bruins end of the field.
Both teams wound up with 10-2 records with UCLA expecting to move up from its No. 9 ranking and No. 8 Arkansas likely dropping out of the top 10.
'We couldn't run and we couldn't pass,' said Arkansas quarterback Quinn Grovey. 'It was just a bad day all around.'
Aikman's bowl trip was a unique experience because of his likely becoming the No. 1 draft choice of the Cowboys.
'There was no pressure on me,' said Aikman, who was named the game's most vaulable offensive player. 'There were just distractions. There probably were more distractions this week than I've had during the whole season combined.
'There was too much publicity on me and not enough on our team and I resented that.'
Aikman drove the Bruins 93 yards in a Cotton Bowl record 19 plays for UCLA's first score and then directed a 74-yard march in 10 plays that resulted in the second.
UCLA had the ball for 12 minutes of the second period and outgained the Razorbacks during that quarter, 152 yards to 2.
In addition to holding the ball for 8:20 and 3:38 on its two scoring possessions in the second quarter, UCLA had drives that lasted 4:39, 7:00 and 5:52 in the second half.
UCLA ran its overall bowl record to 9-7-1 and extended a bowl winning streak that began on Jan. 1, 1983 with a 24-14 victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
That triumph was followed by victories over Illinois (Rose), Miami (Fiesta), Iowa (Rose), Brigham Young (Freedom), Florida (Aloha) and Monday's Cotton Bowl triumph.
'Some cynics say that (record) doesn't mean that much,' Donahue said. 'But it does. It is a great achievement for the UCLA program and it means something to all the players and assistant coaches who had a part in it.'
Although its significance was not obvious when it occurred, the key play of the game was turned in by Arkansas senior outside linebacker Odis Lloyd.
In the opening moments of the second quarter, UCLA faced a third-and-five situation from its own 12 following a 71-yard punt from Arkansas' Allen Meacham.
Aikman scrambled out of the pocket, was hit after a short gain and lunged forward in an attempt to pick up the first down. He came up a yard short, but Lloyd hit Aikman after the whistle had blown.
It was not a flagrant hit and Lloyd almost managed to miss Aikman altogether, but a flag was thrown and the personal foul penalty gave the Bruins a first down.
From that point, UCLA was virtually unstoppable.
The Bruins converted six third downs in their first touchdown drive, including throws from Aikman of 10 yards to Reggie Moore, 12 yards to Mike Farr, 5 yards to Brian Brown and 9 yards to Brendan McCracken.
UCLA converted two more third downs in their second touchdown march, one of them coming on a 20-yard throw from Aikman to Paul Richardson and another on the touchdown throw of 1-yard to Anthony.
The Bruins converted four more third downs in a row in the second half before their streak ended on a third-and-15 situation at the Arkansas 17. Aikman completed a pass to Laurence Burkley on that play, but Burkley fumbled the ball away at the Arkansas 10.
