"Bruins 'DQ' Trojans in Five of Last Six Rivalry Games" article says

[Genevapics]

PASADENA - December 6 - The UCLA Bruins football program Saturday achieved another milestone by refusing to quit in the face of another defeat to their cross-town arch rival the USC Trojans in a 28-7 loss at the Rose Bowl. From USC's point of view, they have won nine of the last ten games, the best ten year run by either team in rivalry history. For UCLA, however, this marks the fifth time in six years the Bruins "Didn't Quit", against the Men of Troy.

"Man, from start to finish, we did fight them," said Bruins linebacker Reggie Carter, still sweating in a "Didn't Quit" T-shirt and pants an hour following the game.

The Bruins looked poised to upset the Trojans after capitalizing on an early turnover to take a 7-0 lead. However, the Trojans scored the next 28 points, outgained the Bruins 478-157 in total yardage, and allowed the UCLA offense to cross midfield only once. Still, the Bruins never gave up and so claimed a win in their internal "Didn't Quit" sweepstakes.

"We were huge underdogs, but it didn't matter to us, we never stopped playing," said cornerback Michael Norris, his eyes still wide.

Though first year head coach Rick Neuheisel finished the year 4-8, he spoke with pride about his team and their valiant effort to resist throwing in the towel in their home stadium. "Our team felt like we weren't going to be shown up here at the Rose Bowl, and our team matched that."

Alums and boosters appear to share Neuheisel's sentiment. "When I left, it looked like they were really holding it together. It's not like that Carson Palmer year [when the Bruins fell behind 52-7 before responding with 14 garbage time points], said graduate Chris Mello. Dozens of alums nodded in unison as they shared free pizza with hundreds of Bruin faithful under a golden canopy in the Rose Bowl parking lot early in the fourth quarter.

According to the UCLA sports information department, the athletic director Dan Guerrero actually considered keeping track of a "Didn't Quit" stat, known internally as the "DQ" following the 27-0 debacle in 2001. But following humiliating Trojan win in 2002 at the Rose Bowl, which led to the ouster of head coach Bob Toledo, Guerrero realized he had to "do something more than fire the coach."

Thus, the "DQ" was formally created. "It was originally going to be used to evaluate the new coaches," Guerroro explained." Because they kept SC under 50 [48-22] the next year, I marked a 'DQ' down in my book. But after the wonderful 29-24 loss in 2004 we thought we'd go public with it. I know I screwed up by extending [former head coach] Karl [Dorrell's] contract, but the fans and players really embraced the idea. I know [Los Angeles Times columist Bill] Plaschke's into it. And I heard [ABC analyst] Craig James is a big fan of the 'DQ.' Big fan."

"For the SC game, the players wear the t-shirts under the jerseys. The funny thing is, after we beat them a couple of years ago, I planned to junk the whole thing. Karl even came up with that "Finish" bracelet but the players kept losing them. 'Finish' really wasn't that popular because it didn't refer to USC. So before last year's game the seniors called a meeting voted to bring the "DQ" back, and now the motto is a really big part of the rivalry from our point of view. I guess you could say it's part of the football program's DNA...Though I have heard D'Wayne Walker refuses to wear his shirt."