Westwood, Ho!

3. Getting stronger.

When Toledo arrived, he heard stories of a conditioning program run by someone drinking a cup of coffee and asking the players to monitor their own progress.

Today, former UCLA guard Mike Linn runs a staff of five assistants who personally supervise each player in workouts that, in the off-season, begin at 6 a.m.

Linn says the most important weight lifted is that of the longtime stereotype.

"When I played here, we were the gutty little Bruins, and that kind of ticked me off," he said. "Everyone kept portraying us as David versus Goliath. Well, I thought, why can't we be Goliath?"

Indeed, today's UCLA team is winning Pac-10 games with the strength of the Big Ten and the toughness of the SEC.

4. The signing of Cade McNown.

He wasn't a great pro. He wasn't even always a great college teammate.

But when the swaggering quarterback chose UCLA on Jan. 13, 1995, Toledo's vision had a symbol.

Without McNown, UCLA doesn't win the 20 consecutive games that built Toledo's foundation.

Without McNown, UCLA doesn't get the national exposure that has led to the national signings.

"That's where it began, no question," Toledo said.

Sources say McNown could be such a jerk in practice, it almost didn't work. But working overtime, the staff was able to keep peace long enough for McNown to cause opponents trouble.

5. The overtime.

At the end of Toledo's first season, his first encounter with USC, his team trailed, 38-21, in the fourth quarter.

Then, with 11:06 remaining in the game, Toledo went into a two-minute drill.

Fans had never seen such boldness. They had also never seen such a comeback, with the Bruins tying the game and sending it to overtime, where Skip Hicks' 25-yard run won it.

Folks suddenly realized that these were not your same old Bruins.

"I need to get my breath," Toledo said at the time.

Still does.

"It was nightmarish," John Robinson said at the time.

Still is.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com.