Bruins Lower Boomer

It was the most amazing sight of an amazing afternoon.

Fourth quarter, fourth down, midfield, Oklahoma going for it, UCLA trying to stop it.

The Sooners came to the line, the Bruins met them there, the Rose Bowl crowd rose to its feet, and there it was.

There he was.

Cap pulled low, headset tugged tight, playbook tucked down the front of his pants ... Karl Dorrell waving his hands and doing jumping jacks?

UCLA held, Oklahoma lost, pigs you-know-what.

“Coach has shown like, 10 times more emotion this year,” said Drew Olson, smiling and shaking his head like all of us. “It’s really fun to play for him now.”

It’s possibly even more fun to watch him now, his Bruins doing their own calisthenics on the prone and lifeless body of the Busted Sooners, scoring 41 points, allowing 24, turning their wallflower into the life of the postgame party.

After the victory, Dorrell’s best in three seasons, UCLA’s best in seven seasons, the head stoic faced the Bruin crowd and grabbed a microphone.

“There’s a lot of great things to come!” he shouted, his scratchy voice answered with a roar from those who had not fainted from shock. “Believe in this team!”

And believe in its coach?

That was the real question that Saturday purported to address.

Was Dorrell’s system working? Have the previous two seasons of patient yet painful growth been worth it?

Could the invisible coach win a larger-than-life game?

“He had been taking a lot of heat,” said Tom Cable, offensive coordinator. “This was his chance to say, ‘We are getting close.’ ”

Dorrell has spoken. And are they ever.

With a 3-0 record and a schedule that is mostly as gentle as a Pasadena breeze, they are top-10 close, big-bowl close and, most important in this town, finally-worth-watching close.

This wasn’t just a win, it was Revenge of the Nerd, an endorsement of everything Dorrell has espoused during three tricky seasons that have been spent with one hand on a grease board and the other one holding off various blue Hawaiian-shirted alumni.

“This game was a validation of our system,” said Dan Guerrero, Bruin athletic director. “It was a validation of Karl’s ability to coach in a big game.”

Not to mention, it showed how well a man can move with a game plan stuck down the front of his pants.

Not to further dwell on Dorrell’s lack of cool, but, um, doesn’t that kind of fashion statement hurt?

“It’s easier to carry it that way,” Dorrell said. “What, you don’t like how it looks?”

Ah, forget it. The only thing any of the 56,522 fans here Saturday will remember is how the 3-0 Bruins looked, which is exactly as Dorrell has dressed them.

They were calm.

Missing a field goal on their first drive, allowing a touchdown reverse on Oklahoma’s first drive and trailing for the first time this season, the Bruins gathered around Dorrell on the sidelines.

“He said, ‘Do not panic,’ ” cornerback Marcus Cassel said. “He said, ‘They got us on a good play. We have plenty of time to get them back.’ ”

And they did, scoring the next 13 points and never trailing again.

They were smart.

When it was obvious that two of their best offensive weapons weren’t showing up -- Maurice Drew was stifled until the fourth quarter and Junior Taylor was injured on the second play -- they deftly flipped the pages to Plan C.

It was Olson completing two passes for one touchdown and one huge first down to former walk-on Andrew Baumgartner, a kid so anonymous his photo is not in the media guide and his name was not on the depth chart.

It was Olson completing passes to a fullback, a true freshman, 10 receivers total, all without an interception, all within the system.

“What we do here, it works,” said Olson. “And this is just the beginning.”

And, finally, they were tough.

In his first two years, a Dorrell team would have wilted when faced with situations like higher-ranked teams creeping to within three points late in the third quarter.

But these Bruins -- particularly Olson -- responded with a game-controlling, 83-yard touchdown drive that swallowed nearly six minutes and featured audibles, scrambles, screens, quick slants and Marcedes Lewis wide open for a 19-yard touchdown pass.

After that, Dorrell walked halfway onto the field and hugged and high-fived and even laughed as one of his players rode past him on the back of another.

“The last two years here, we don’t win this game,” said Olson.

Listen to the kid. Dorrell’s first two seasons here featured bowl flops against Fresno State and Wyoming, late-season fades against Oregon and Washington State and, of course, two defeats against USC.

Dorrell said all week that his coaching future here was not dependent on beating No. 21-ranked Oklahoma.

He was wrong.

The Bruins said all week that they were not even thinking about how coach’s job might be affected by Oklahoma.

They were fibbing.

This was Dorrell’s test, Dorrell’s moment, and everyone knew it.

Afterward, when he negotiated a half-dozen hugs and finally entered the tunnel, hundreds of remaining fans let him hear it, cheering louder for him than any player, their voices lifting his fists into the air as he pumped and pointed.

“Coach showed everyone, this is his job,” exclaimed linebacker Justin London, his words echoing through a town where, at least for two weeks, nobody will argue.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com. To read previous Plaschke columns, go to latimes.com/plaschke.