75,000, 'great challenge' await UH at Coliseum

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Quarterback Matt Leinart, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound sophomore, will lead Southern Cal against the University of Hawai'i today. Leinart and the Trojans are 2-0 this season. Associated Press

In preparation for today's football game between Hawai'i (1-0) and fourth-ranked Southern California (2-0), a UH alumni group is planning to place lei on Tommy Trojan, the bronzed statue in the center of the USC campus.

UH's Letterwinner's Club staged a golf tournament for alumni living in Southern California, and a large tailgate is scheduled for this morning.

In the past few days, KKEA sportscaster Bobby Curran has set up his call-in show at a downtown Los Angeles hotel.

Three television crews, including one from New York, are following the Warriors. One producer yesterday was plotting a camera shot of the Warriors descending a hotel staircase.

A Who's Who of former Warriors is expected to be among the crowd of 75,000 in the 92,000-seat Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. For an opponent that is not named Notre Dame or UCLA, "it's a good-sized crowd," USC spokesman Tim Tessalone said.

Kurt Gouveia, a former Wai'anae High standout, made the two-hour drive from San Diego. Gouveia, who was a student manager with UH last year, has won a Super Bowl ring and an NCAA national championship. He declared this as the biggest road game in UH football history.

"Oh, yes!" he yelled, his voice echoing in the hotel lobby. "This is big time."

This has become the most anticipated UH road game since the 1992 Holiday Bowl in San Diego. But more UH supporters are expected to attend today's game than the 5,000 who went to the Holiday Bowl.

For June Jones, this is the dream he dared to dream when he signed as UH football coach in January 1999.

"Football is not just about the university," Jones said yesterday, "it's about the state. That's the biggest difference between (the college) football (in Hawai'i) and anywhere else."

Jones has tried to quell the importance of this game. This will be UH's highest-ranked opponent on the road in the program's history. The game matches two former NFL coaches — one who coordinates the offense (Jones), the other who makes the defensive calls (USC's Pete Carroll). USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who was raised in Hawai'i, was a finalist for the UH head coaching job that went to Jones' predecessor, Fred vonAppen, in December 1995.

Jones has kept his players on the usual road agenda — an evening practice, meetings late into the night. The one exception is that he scheduled a walk-through practice in the Coliseum, the first time the Warriors have practiced on an opponent's field in Jones' five seasons at UH coach.

"This is the best team we've ever faced," said UH offensive lineman Uriah Moenoa, a fourth-year junior. "It's going to be a great challenge and a great experience. ... We're not going in with any fear. We have a lot of respect for them, but we're not going in with fear."

UH cornerback Abraham Elimimian, who grew up 10 minutes from the Coliseum, said: "If we're scared, we might as well as just stay home. ... If people think we're going to lose, we should stay home and not go. We think we're going to win. We're going to go up and show USC what we're all about. We've got a lot of respect for them, but they've got to know we're no pushovers."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051