RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii quarterback Tim Chang got a handshake from coach June Jones as they walked off the field after yesterday's game.
Chang shrugs off This time the magic ran out for Tim Chang.
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By Dave Reardon and Jason Kaneshiro
dreardon@starbulletin.com | jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comHawaii's sophomore quarterback has been a miracle worker in recent weeks, especially in the fourth quarter.
Against Fresno State, he directed an offense that scored 22 points in the final period to win. He preserved a victory against San Jose State with poise in the fourth quarter, and also led late scoring drives to win at Rice.
Last week's pressure-packed victory vs. Cincinnati might have been the most impressive.
But Chang's two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter were not enough to beat Alabama yesterday. He had dug himself too deep a hole.
Chang was intercepted four times by the Crimson Tide, and the Warriors didn't score in the first half.
"We had our opportunities tonight. I made too many mistakes and put the defense in a bad position. We had to rely on Mat McBriar to kick the ball down the field. I put the team in a bad position to start with and I can't be doing that against great teams like Alabama," said Chang, who is Hawaii's career passing yardage leader. "It disappoints me. We're a great team, the program is moving up. The program is there, it's just taking that step through the door."
Chang broke three single-season passing records and tied the career mark for touchdowns. But it took him too long to break the code to beating the Tide's secondary last night.
"They're quick, they're big. They had a good scheme, playing us bump-and-run man and mixing it up with some zone. They did a great job moving things around and keeping us on our toes."
Chang finished with 26 completions in 53 attempts for 372 yards after a fourth quarter in which he was 8 of 14 for 196 yards, including the touchdowns of 70 and 12 yards to Jeremiah Cockheran and Chad Owens.
The quarterback said he had trouble shaking off bad plays early in the game.
"When Justin Colbert got held on the first play on the switch that kind of threw my rhythm off and then I throw an interception on the next play and things got in my mind," Chang said. "From there you just have to compose yourself. We use the term 'one snap and clear.' If something bad happens you clear it, you come back and just go to the next down. There's other plays to be made."
He relaxed as the game went along, though. Despite some rough handling on four Alabama sacks, including two by Antwan Odom, Chang got into a rhythm.
"It was just sliding around in the pocket, finding little holes where I could buy just a second or two just to get off the ball," he said.
The knee and thumb injuries suffered against Cincinnati didn't seem to bother him.
"I'm fine. There's probably a slight tear, still a bruise on my thumb, but I'm fine. I'm here," Chang said. "Subconsciously, I threw off my back foot. I threw an interception off my back foot. There was a guy coming up in the face and I tried to hold up my knee, so I threw the ball a little high and it got picked."
Hawaii coach June Jones credited Chang for coming back -- both from the injuries and the interceptions.
"We were just five or six plays off. We'll be OK," Jones said. "Timmy Chang struggled, but came out in the second half and showed a lot of heart. Timmy has the heart of a champion."
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