Chang brushed off
boos, bruises

Hawaii's resilient quarterback
has overcome setbacks

Like the other physical injuries, the ugly bruise on Tim Chang's left arm will fade away.

The ugly feelings are already ancient history.

MICHIGAN STATE AT HAWAII Where: Aloha Stadium When: Saturday, 6:35 p.m. Tickets: $17 to $35, $3 for UH students for this game. TV: Live, ESPN2 (no local blackout) Radio: Live, KKEA 1420-AM Internet: KKEA1420AM.com

Last year, he was booed in his home stadium in a game UH ended up winning, against storied Alabama -- with Chang, the local-boy-hero quarterback, on the sideline.

Last month, he became the NCAA career passing leader.

Last Saturday, the fans roared with approval again as Chang came back from taking a dangerous-looking late hit to spark a 35-7 run in the Warriors' 49-41 victory over Northwestern.

"Just a little bruise," Chang said yesterday, showing the large yellow and blue mark on his arm. Just another injury, a minor one compared to the concussion, staph infection, broken wrist and finger, sprained knee and banged up shoulder he has also suffered over the last five years.

This week, Chang prepares for the final regular-season game of a long college career that had more drastic up-and-down swings than some people experience in a lifetime. When Chang throws his last complete pass either Saturday against Michigan State or on Christmas Eve against UAB in the Hawaii Bowl, he will establish a final yardage standard for all of college football to chase. He will have also finished as UH's most publicized, criticized and analyzed player, perhaps in the history of the program.

"I'm in that position where people are going to be critical, and I handled it best I could," Chang said.

The late hit on Saturday hurt at first, but then helped fire up the crowd and his teammates. And the booing wasn't pleasant at the time, but made him better in the long run.

"It made me realize how important the game is to a lot of people, and how important my efforts are to the success of our team," Chang said. "You've got to be resilient. I've learned so much going through things like being booed."

Yesterday, Chang was named to the Western Athletic Conference first team. Receiver Chad Owens and defensive back Abraham Elimimian were also selected to the first team, while offensive lineman Samson Satele made the second team and receiver Jason Rivers, offensive linemen Uriah Moenoa and Tala Esera and defensive end Mel Purcell all made honorable mention. (See Page B-6 for complete all-WAC teams.)

Faga sidelined: UH defensive tackle Matt Faga has started every game this season. He vows to play Saturday despite a minor knee sprain that kept him out of practice yesterday.

Another senior, offensive lineman Uriah Moenoa, said he is ready to play this week after missing the last two games with knee and hamstring injuries.

"You know it. Guarantee," he said.

Reunion: Junior cornerback Turmarian Moreland made his first start against Northwestern and is looking forward to playing against Michigan State receiver Jerramy Scott.

"We went to the same elementary school (in south Florida) and we were opponents in high school," Moreland said. "He's a good guy, but it's going to be a battle."

Scott leads the Spartans with 34 receptions. They've gone for 337 yards and three touchdowns.