Game 2 | Warriors deflated in Los Angeles by Southern Cal

Sept. 13 at Los Angeles • Southern California 61, UH 32

Advertiser Staff

LOS ANGELES — It began in the Los Angeles haze, and ended with the University of Hawai'i football team in a daze.

It ended with the Warriors, cramped in a visiting locker room made for a team with half the roster size, left with the stifling feeling that comes with a 61-32 loss to fourth-ranked Southern California.

In the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Warriors did not get the breaks, did not make the plays and, in the end, did not fulfill improbable hopes of producing the biggest surprise in the program's history.

The Trojans came through in several ways — with a balanced attack that outscored UH, 49-10, in the middle quarters, and with a defensive scheme that took the oomph out of Hawai'i's run-and-shoot offense.

Despite the one-sided outcome — UH scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes — there were suspenseful moments until the Warriors unraveled in the aftermath of two controversial calls in the first half.

On fourth-and-9 with the ball at their 46, the Warriors (1-1) called for a fake punt, a play they had practiced for more than a week. Anticipating that USC would use two players to slow the player aligned wide who sprints downfield to cover the punt returner, coach June Jones had told the referees before the game he would call a fake punt that would induce a pass-interference penalty.

Chad Kapanui, who was aligned between the snapper and punter, fielded the snap and threw left to David Gilmore, who was entangled with two USC players. But the referee did not call an interference penalty, prompting Jones to spend a timeout berating the officials. USC drove for a field goal and a 3-0 lead.

With the score tied at 3 in the second quarter, UH's Tim Chang threw a high pass to slotback Gerald Welch in the right flat. As Welch tried to gain possession, he fell to the ground, and the football popped free. USC's Ronald Nunn picked it up and raced 38 yards for a touchdown and 10-3 lead the Trojans would never relinquish.

The Warriors argued that the touchdown should not have been allowed.

HAWAI'I 3 3 7 19 — 32

USC 3 28 21 9 — 61

First Quarter

USC—FG Ryan Killeen 24

UH—FG Justin Ayat 35

Second Quarter

USC—Ronald Nunn 48 fumble return (Killeen kick)

UH—FG Ayat 20

USC—Reggie Bush 23 run (Killeen kick)

USC—Keary Colbert 32 pass from Matt Leinart (Killeen kick)

USC—Mike Williams 33 pass from Leinart (Killeen kick)

Third Quarter

USC—Bush 27 run (Killeen kick)

USC—Jason Leach 25 interception return (Killeen kick)

USC—LenDale White 5 run (Killeen kick)

UH—Chad Owens 5 pass from Tim Chang (Ayat kick)

Fourth Quarter

UH—Cockheran 14 pass from Chang (Ayat kick)

USC—White 20 run (Killeen kick)

USC—Safety, Chang tackled in end zone

UH—Jason Rivers 14 pass from Jason Whieldon (kick failed)

UH—Owens 22 pass from Whieldon (kick failed)

Attendance—73,654

RUSHING: Hawai'i—West Keli'ikipi 8-57, Brewster 3-24, West 2-4, Chang 16-(minus 22). USC—White 10-58, Bush 9-54, Dennis 9-52, Washington 3-8, Leinart 2-(minus 8).

PASSING: Hawai'i—Chang 32-54-2—306, Whieldon 8-12-0—93, Kapanui 0-1-0—0. USC—Leinhart 15-21-0—220, Cassel 2-3-0—21, Hance 1-2-0—13.

RECEIVING: Hawai'i—Cockheran 10-117, Owens 10-98, Welch 4-43, Komine 4-37, Brewster 4-26, Poumele 2-38, Keliikipi 2-18, Rivers 2-12, West 2-10. USC—Colbert 5-86, Williams 3-70, Byrd 3-28, Dennis 2-5, Bush 1-28, McFoy 1-15, Katnik 1-13, Washington 1-6, Kirtman 1-3.