Big Things Are Bruin With Toledo

It was a decision UCLA Athletic Director Peter Dalis called “intuitive.”

Two years ago, Northwestern Coach Gary Barnett rejected Dalis’ offer to replace retiring Terry Donahue as Bruin football coach.

Dalis decided to place his trust in little known offensive coordinator Bob Toledo, whose last head coaching experience was at Pacific in 1982.

Now Dalis looks like a genius.

This could be the year UCLA makes a legitimate bid for a national championship, with Toledo, 51, a Westlake Village resident, leading the charge.

“We’ve beaten our cross-town rival seven years in a row,” Toledo said. “We’re ranked fifth in the country. We’re one of the leading scoring teams in the country. We’re going to have a great recruiting class. I would like to say this is one of the top programs in the country and I want to maintain it and get it even better.”

Toledo has injected a rising level of enthusiasm and confidence that’s being passed on to players, alumni and fans.

The words “national championship” were rarely mentioned during Donahue’s 20-year reign as Bruin head coach. But Toledo isn’t afraid to aim for what Florida State, Notre Dame and Nebraska have always strived.

“I’m not going to beat my chest and say, ‘We’re going to win the national championship,’ ” Toledo said. “I’m saying we should compete for it every year. That’s where I want our program to be.”

As the Bruins (9-2) prepare to face Texas A&M; today in the Cotton Bowl, they have a chance for their highest finish in the national rankings since they were ranked No. 4 at the end of the 1965 season.

Returning in 1998 will be quarterback Cade McNown, who is expected to be a leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy.

Toledo is on the verge of a top-10 recruiting class highlighted by an outstanding group of linemen. He has expectations soaring at UCLA.

“Last year we were kind of scraping the top of the iceberg and now we’re starting to climb the tip,” he said. “We had a good foundation to build upon, but we had to improve on it. We tried to sell the players and if the word is they ‘bought into the program,’ that’s what has happened.”

Toledo has learned during good and bad times to trust his instincts.

“I think the biggest thing is you have to believe in yourself and your philosophy and you can’t let outside distractions affect that,” he said.