Hawaii Warriors vs. USC Trojans | Football | September 13, 2003

#BRADDAHHOOD #HawaiiFB

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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).

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.

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.

"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."

"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.

"I wanted Timmy to work through some things," said Jones, when asked why his starter was in the game so late in a rout.