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Screw moral victories.

UCLA won this one.

By virtue of showing a national audience how far a little heart and hard work will go, by virtue of UCLA coach Karl Dorrell showing what he and his program are all about, by virtue of pushing USC to the limits in its national championship run, if nothing else, the Bruins have finally brought a little respect back to Westwood.

Even in a loss, UCLA showed more than it did after shutting out Stanford and after upsetting Oregon – they showed that this team may finally be on its way back.

Yes, it’s okay to be a Bruin football fan again, without worry of being embarrassed and without fear of public persecution.

This isn’t the same program that is trying to get by on talent alone, nor is it a team riddled with troublemakers.

No, this is a team that came into Pasadena in muddy trucks with a lunch pail and a hard hat, that stamped its time card, laid it all out and stamped out.

This is a team that enraptured a sold-out Rose Bowl crowd for the full 60 minutes.

This is a team to be proud of.

And the consequences of that are endless.

Not only will UCLA likely receive a recruiting boost, but Dorrell, as pumped as he’s been since he was actually wearing the UCLA jersey nearly two decades ago, earned himself close to a perfect game.

When his team was down 10-0, and needed to wake up after its three-week slumber, Dorrell knew he had to mix things up, calling for a successful fake punt. When the referee blew the call on Reggie Bush’s apparent fumble, Dorrell didn’t let it go as he might have in the past. Instead, he gave the referee the earful that all watching wanted to give.

Dorrell has made believers out of a lot of people on Saturday, and more importantly, has made believers out of 100-plus men wearing UCLA jerseys on the Rose Bowl sideline.

It is that heart that should make every UCLA fan proud to be a Bruin. Yes, it’s a loss, just like the previous five to USC.

But unlike the other five, the Bruins never gave up, and, in fact, they earned the victory, even if they weren’t given it.

Unlike the previous five, it was a team that played until the end, as shown by flying to the ball and trying to punch the ball out – and succeeding – in the game’s final minute. For all the talk about USC, for the 23-point underdog label Las Vegas gamblers threw at UCLA, for all of its own inconsistencies this season, this Bruin team genuinely believed it could win.

When it was them against the world, UCLA rose to the challenge.

Offensively, UCLA only mustered 17 rushing yards against a defensive line that likely boasts four future NFL players. But it was through the air where plays were made. Junior Taylor made several great catches of balls thrown anywhere except where he was going, and Tab Perry had that great stiffarm against a USC defender that is now my screensaver. And Craig Bragg, in his last game at the Rose Bowl, reminded fans of the big gaping hole that will be left next year in the receiving corps.

And who knows, with a healthy Maurice Drew ...

Even so, the greater body of work still lies ahead. The Las Vegas Bowl against Wyoming still looms. But, if anything, for the first time in a long while, Dorrell showed that he has his team on the right track, in the right direction and going to the right place.

“I’m disappointed about today, but I’m excited about the future,” Dorrell said after Saturday’s loss. “I’m proud of our football team.”

So are we, Coach Dorrell. And you’ve earned that qualifier before your last name, too, if only until your next loss.

Analysts across the nation are making the claim that this Bruin team should be proud for even being close, that the fact that UCLA had a chance at the end was amazing.

But screw moral victories. UCLA won this one, if only because the Bruins still got what it wanted all along – a little respect.

Bruce started writing lyrics to “Maurice Drew, Where Are You?” E-mail Bruce lines at btran@media.ucla.edu.