[ UH FOOTBALL ]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hawaii's Michael Brewster tried to fight off Southern California's Melvin Simmons in the first half yesterday.
Warriors
humbledHawaii has given up 123 points
in two games against USC
since June Jones took overS. CALIFORNIA 61, HAWAII 32
LOS ANGELES -- One way to look at it is that a couple of bad calls cost Hawaii its football game yesterday against Southern California.
A more realistic perspective is that the final score was 61-32, and it was 52-6 when the fourth-ranked Trojans pulled their starters in the third quarter. That was the view most of the 73,654 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum liked.
The Warriors' 3,000 or so fans here got an exciting start (a 3-3 tie after the first quarter) and a happy ending (a Jason Whieldon to Chad Owens pass for a 22-yard touchdown). The middle, however, was a major bummer for Hawaii.
While UH showed it is 17 points better than USC's backups, it also learned it can't beat -- or stay on the field with -- an elite team if the Warriors make mistakes, even minor ones. Hawaii coach June Jones said that's regardless of the officiating, although a couple of early calls that went against his team certainly didn't help.
"You're at the mercy of those calls, but you have to overcome them," Jones said. "Two or three negative plays really sapped our momentum. We played (well) in the first and fourth quarters, but we let the momentum change take away our want-to."
Jones argued with officials a solid 10 minutes about a no-call on what he thought should have been pass interference on a fake-punt pass from Chad Kapanui to David Gilmore after Hawaii's first possession stalled at its own 46.
The play was designed to draw an interference call (Jones told the officials before the game it might be used), and Gilmore said he earned one.
"I don't like to question the officials, but clearly they (USC players) were all over me," said Gilmore, who as a "gunner" in punt formation is an eligible receiver.
USC took over and drove to the Hawaii 7. The Trojans took a 3-0 lead on Ryan Killeen's 24-yard field goal.
The Trojans also scored their first touchdown on a controversial play. USC defensive back Ronald Nunn scooped up a ball that UH receiver Gerald Welch dropped as he was falling and which was ruled a fumble. Nunn ran 38 yards into the Warriors end zone for a 10-3 lead at 11:46 of the second quarter.
The play helped UH lose the turnover battle (3-2 this time) for the sixth game in a row going back to last season.
"I never had complete possession of it and nobody hit me," Welch said. "There were a lot of bad calls, but we had to overcome them and we didn't.
"It took the fun out of the game, but you have to do what you have to do to get over it," added Welch, who caught four passes for 43 yards starting in place of injured Nate Ilaoa at slot receiver. "They're a good team, no doubt. We had our chances, but we didn't make the most of them and that's what sucks."
Well, some will say Hawaii's defense did, too, especially after the first quarter.
Justin Ayat field goals of 35 and 20 yards -- after UH failed twice to score with first down in the red zone -- kept Hawaii in the game at 10-6. But USC exploded on UH for three quick touchdowns in the last 4:58 of the first half -- a 23-yard run by Reggie Bush, and passes from Matt Leinart to Keary Colbert (32 yards) and Mike Williams (33 yards).
ASSOCIATED PRESS
USC's Justin Wyatt tried to shake off Hawaii's Justin Ayat yesterday as Wyatt returned a kickoff 31 yards.
The Trojans led 31-6 at halftime, and the carnage continued at the outset of the third quarter as USC scored on a 32-yard run by Bush, a 25-yard interception return by Jason Leach and a 5-yard run by LenDale White.
It was 52-6, and the Trojans were threatening to outdo their 1999 team that beat Hawaii 62-7 at Aloha Stadium in Jones' first game as UH coach.
"It was a particularly good game for our offense," Trojans coach Pete Carroll said after his team's 11th consecutive victory. "The things we wanted to get accomplished showed today. We wanted to see consistency in the running game. A lot of things went well for us offensively once we got cracking."
The Warriors gave up 418 yards, and it would have been a lot more if the Trojans left their starters in.
UH actually outgained USC, with 462 yards. But like the score, that number is misleading.
"They moved the ball pretty well on us early on," Carroll said. "We played a rope-a-dope defense early on. We gained control of it, so it really wasn't a problem."
The game turned out to be a role reversal of sorts when it came to offensive style.
The Warriors' run-and-shoot offense is normally a quick-strike attack that scores early and often. But UH went more for a ball-control attack with short passes and more running than usual in an attempt to fend off USC's voracious defensive front four.
"We did some things differently," said UH quarterback Tim Chang, who passed for 306 yards but won't be getting any Heisman votes based on this performance. "But with a four-receiver set there's not a whole lot to change."
Jones did enough tinkering to allow the Warriors to move the ball, but USC had an idea UH would go with the short stuff and didn't blitz often.
"We knew he liked to dump it off, and would probably do it even more against us," Trojans defensive end Kenechi Udeze said. "Because of that, there wasn't going to be too much blitzing going on, and our guys did a great job behind us."
Jones agreed.
"They did a very good job of tackling our receivers," said Jones, who also noted how poorly his own defense tackled. "They've got good team speed. They get their feet in control and tackle you. They're talented and can run."
The longest gain for a Hawaii receiver was 31 yards on a Chang-Welch connection.
"Their safeties played deep," Chang said. "They didn't allow the deep ball."
Chang, playing in his first game of the season after a one-game academic suspension, completed 32 of 54 passes with two touchdowns after the issue was decided (5 yards to Chad Owens and 14 to Jeremiah Cockheran) and two interceptions, including the one returned for a touchdown. He also took a safety when Travis Tofi tackled him in the end zone with 7:15 left in the game.
"I wanted Timmy to work through some things," said Jones, when asked why his starter was in the game so late in a rout.
Jason Whieldon relieved Chang on the next series and completed a touchdown pass of 14 yards to Jason Rivers in addition to the 22-yarder to Owens on the last play. Whieldon completed eight of 12 passes for 93 yards, all against the Trojan subs.
Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart was an efficient 15-for-21 with two touchdowns and no interceptions for 220 yards before exiting in the third quarter. He was sacked once, by Isaac Sopoaga.
"Fortunately we've got one of the best defenses in the country," the replacement of 2002 Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer said. "We're not weak at any one position."
USC gets a week off before opening its Pac-10 season at Cal. The Warriors have six more days on the road, the next five in Ontario, Calif., before taking on host Nevada-Las Vegas.
