+15
For more information, please visit Conquest Chronicles
Shane Austin threw another touchdown to Kealoha Pilares, this one of the 30-yard variety, to cut the USC lead to 49-36 with 3:52 remaining. Hawaii missed the two-point conversion.
Hawaii has gained 588 yards of offense on USC tonight.
USC running back Marc Tyler, in his first career start, capped off a good night with a 44-yard touchdown run one play after the failed onside kick attempt by Hawaii.Tyler has 154 yards on 17 carries on the night.
It really seems as if both teams are allergic to tackling tonight, as they have combined for over 1,000 yards on the evening.
The score is 49-30 USC with 6:22 remaining.
Third-string quarterback Shane Austin threw a 65-yard strike to Kealoha Pilares, pulling Hawaii to within 42-30 with 6:48 left to play in the game.
On the game, Hawaii has totaled 520 yards against the porous and poor-tackling USC defense. Hawaii attempted an onisde kick after the touchdown, but was unsuccessful.
It took all of 82 seconds for USC to respond to Hawaii’s touchdown, putting together a four-play, 79-yard touchdown drive to push their lead to 42-23 at the end of the third quarter.
The highlight of the drive was a 49-yard pass on a rollout play from Matt Barkley to fullback Stanley Havili. The three-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Johnson was the fifth TD pass of the night for Barkley, and the fourth overall score for Johnson.
After the touchdown, Mitch Mustain ran the ball into the endzone for a two-point conversion. USC is 2-for-4 on two-point conversion attempts on the game.
Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz returned to the locker room, feeling the affects of a hit by USC linebacker Michael Morgan earlier in the quarter.
Hawaii answered Ronald Johnson’s punt return touchdown with a 12-play, 84-yard drive, capped off by a one-yard run by Alex Green, cutting the USC lead to 34-23 with 1:54 left in the third quarter.
During the drive, Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz was hurt on a hard hit by USC linebacker Michael Morgan. Moniz was hit with what ESPN announcer Bob Davie called “a forearm shiver” by Morgan, and Moniz was down for a few minutes before leaving the game. It is unclear whether or not he will return to the game.
Moniz is 18-for-36 for 269 yards on the night, throwing mostly short passes to his receivers. Moniz has also rushed 11 times for 37 yards.
Ronald Johnson, not known for calling for fair catches, fielded a punt in heavy traffic at the 11-yard line, and his decision paid off with an 89-yard touchdown return, giving USC a 34-16 lead with 7:35 remaining in the third quarter.
Johnson also has two touchdown catches on the night.
The USC athletic department tweeted this after Johnson scored:
Now, Shareece Wright to the locker room, but another senior Ronald Johnson runs right by him on the way in.
There has been no word on whether or not Wright has been injured.
The Hawaii Warriors drove down the field with a minute left, aided by a late hit on the quarterback by USC, led to what appeared to be a touchdown pass with 12 seconds left in the half. Receiver Greg Salas was called down just shy of the goal line, but replays showed he may have reached the ball over the goal line before he was down.
To make things worse, the referee, after reviewing the play with the booth upstairs signaled to the crowd with his arms out wide — you know, like a touchdown — to show that Salas was just short of the end zone. However, the crowd and just about everyone thought he signaled touchdown, and it didn’t help that his microphone wasn’t working.
Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz threw two incompletions following the non-touchdown, and the Warriors settled for a field goal, bringing the halftime score to USC 27, Hawaii 16.
The two teams combined for 31 first downs and 549 yards in the first half.
Matt Barkley already had a career high with three touchdown passes, but for good measure he added another one, this time to Ronald Johnson with 1:06 left in the second quarter to push the USC lead over Hawaii to 27-13.
Did I mention it was still the first half? Barkley so far is 15-for-19 with 190 yards passing and four scores so far. His previous career high was two touchdown passes in a game, which he did five times last season in his freshman year.
It was the second touchdown catch of the night for Johnson.
USC kicker Joe Houston attempted, and made, his first extra point of the night. On the previous three touchdowns for USC, they attempted two-point conversions.
After stopping USC for the first time on defense, the Hawaii Warriors struck back with a touchdown drive of their own, capped off by a 56-yard catch-and-run by Kealoha Pilares from Bryant Moniz. The touchdown cut the USC lead to 20-13 with 3:07 left in the first half.
The Hawaii Warriors marched 58 yards in 11 plays, but had to settle for a field goal, cutting the USC lead to 20-6 with 7:29 remaining in the second quarter. Scott Enos kicked a 40-yard field goal, his second of the game for Hawaii.
Warriors quarterback Bryant Moniz rushed four times for 25 yards on the drive.
Matt Barkley finished off an eight-play, 69-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown strike to tight end Rhett Ellison with 12:24 remaining in the second quarter, puching the Trojans lead over Hawaii to 20-3.
USC has three touchdowns in three drives on offense, but has yet to attempt an extra point. There has been no word of an injury to Joe Houston or any other Trojans placekickers, but USC has attempted three straight two-point conversions.
After a balanced drive of both running and passing, Matt Barkley rolled out right and threw a one-yard touchdown pass with 1:43 remaining in the first quarter for USC, his second TD toss of the first quarter. Barkley was 4-for-4 on the drive with 34 yards, and has completed all six pass attempts of the game so far.
Barkley completed a pass to Johnson on the two-point conversion, making the score 14-3, Trojans over Warriors.
Marc Tyler had four carries for 32 yards on the scoring drive, and Allen Bradford contributed seven yards on two carries as well.
On it’s second drive of the game, Hawaii moved down the ball down the field thanks to a 29-yard run by Alex Green and a 15-yard pass interference penalty on USC. The Warriors had first-and-goal at the three yard line, but two incomplete passes by Bryant Moniz and a sack by Wes Horton meant a goal-line stand for the Trojans.
Scott Enos kicked a 29-yard field goal with 6:36 remaining in the first quarter to make the score 6-3, USC.
After stopping Hawaii on its opening drive, USC marched down the field on a six-play, 79-yard drive, culminating in a 46-yard catch-and-run by David Ausberry for a touchdown. On the extra point, USC attempted a trick play with holder and backup quarterback throwing off target to David Ausberry, so the Trojans lead, 6-0 with 10:16 to play in the first quarter.
On the drive, Matt Barkley completed both of his pass attempts, for 58 yards. Starting tailback Marc Tyler also had four runs for 26 yards, including two first downs.
Are you ready for some (college) football!!!!!
After what seems like a million and a half days, we are now less than 24 hours till the No. 14 USC Trojans (0-0/0-0) face the Hawaii Warriors (0-0/0-0) on the turf in Aloha Stadium where the boys in cardinal and gold commence a season where some have already declared their season a wash.
Don't tell that to the USC Trojan players, who have been practicing and conditioning hard to avenge a season that many 'SC fans called a failure. A 9-4 record may be acceptable for some programs, but it isn't for fans who saw their team win seven straight PAC-10 titles. Players are tired of hearing it and now they will be showing just why a 9-4 record just does not quite equate to USC football.
Back to game, the Trojans arrived in Hawaii Wednesday night (Hawaii time) where they made some final preparations before mentally preparing for Thursday. The starters have been named, now it is time to display their skills against a Hawaii program that will want to forget why it formed a football team in the first place.
Hawaii is led by quarterback Bryan Moniz. He's not going to give you Colt Brennan numbers, but he had an OK season last year for the Warriors where he racked up 2,396 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. This coming after an injury that ended Hawaii's former starting QB, Greg Alexander, who started the first four games of the '09 season.
The Hawaii offense revolves around a run-and-shoot offense, which will benefit Moniz as he has a couple of talented receivers around him. One of those receivers is team captain Greg Salas, who had 1,590 yards and eight touchdowns for the Warriors last season. He ranked fourth nationally with 122.3 receiving yards per game.
Don't expect Salas to have a big game tomorrow as Moniz will be struggling to pass the ball to him. This is because the Warriors lost four starting offensive lineman this season, which goes on to mean that the Trojans' front seven will eat up Hawaii's line.
As for the defense, unlike the offensive line, they are experienced. Seniors cover the secondary while the line is led by captain Kaniela Tuipuluto, who will try to pressure USC's offensive line, which will be a serious problem.
Enough of Hawaii, let's get on to the Trojans.
Trojans offense is led by sophomore quarterback Matt Barkley, who is now experienced. I say that because all eyes are on him to succeed and light up numbers that former recent USC quarterbacks put up. Talent is not a problem as he is surrounded by highly touted players when they graduated high school. Senior Ronald Johnson leads the receiving core followed by true freshman Robert Woods, who has done nothing but be the special player everyone thought he would be since he was the talk of the talk during his sophomore year in high school.
Marc Tyler will start at running back and will finally hope to see a healthy amount of reps to get his healthy body moving. Tyler shed several pounds to be lighter and faster, but able to pound his way through just like he showed everyone in his high school videos. Expect to see Hawaiian defenders get tossed around after Tyler bulldozes his way through the line seeking a first down.
Speaking of the offensive line, they will be in the prayers of every USC fan hoping none of them will go down with injuries. USC lost backup center sophomore Abe Markowitz, who spoils his homecoming to Honolulu, to a toe injury last week that will sideline him for several weeks. Offensive guard Khaled Holmes suffered a mild neck injury last week as well, but will get the start.
The USC defense is highlighted by the "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line that will give the inexperienced Hawaiian O-line serious problems. Senior Jurrell Casey will display to the people, who will be watching on ESPN on Thursday night, his skills as a three-technique tackle instead of the nose tackle that he was last season. His former position will be filled by junior DaJohn Mustard...er... DaJohn Harris who has seen his stock rise under the careful teachings of defensive line coach Ed Orgeron. Defensive ends junior Armond Armstead and sophomore Wes Horton will fill in the strong and weak-side end positions respectively. Keep an eye on Armstead, who looks like an NFL defensive end with his strength and size. Defensive end sophomore Nick Perry is listed as questionable (foot).
The secondary raises the biggest questions in the defense. There will be no talk of problems from senior Shareece Wright because, well, there haven't been any problems with Shareece Wright, who figures to be a premier cornerback in the land of college football. On the other hand, like the starting wideouts, the starting cornerbacks will feature a senior and true freshman. That true freshman is Nickell Robey, whom defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin personally recruited during his days at Tennessee. Kiffin saw something special in Robey and we may be able to see what he saw as I will keep a close eye on the talented freshman.
TJ Mcdonald and Jawanza Starling may be the biggest hitters on the secondary, but the starting safeties also raises the biggest question marks. How will the sophomores fare after they filled in the holes that were home to former safeties Taylor Mays and Will Harris? Stay tuned.
Congratulations, again, to sophomore Devon Kennard, who got the nod as the starting middle linebacker over junior Chris Galippo during fall practice. He will be joined by seniors weak-side linebacker Malcolm Smith and strongside linebacker Michael Morgan. Will they shut up the doubters that wanted a repeat of what the linebackers of the '08 season did? Probably not, but they are very talented. Stay tuned.
Prediction: It's the first game, so I expect there to be some minor mistakes by the Trojans, even if it is against the Hawaii Warriors. Do I believe the mistakes to be costly mistakes that will dictate the whole game in favor of the Hawaii Warriors, who will take advantage of those mistakes and indeed beat USC in front of their home crowd in arguably their biggest game of the season? Yes.
Just kidding, I said minor.
USC wins 54-17
USC Shaky On Defense, But Offense Carries Team To Win Over Hawaii
Honolulu, HI (Sports Network) – Matt Barkley tied a school record by throwing for five touchdowns, as 14th-ranked Southern California beat Hawaii, 49-36, giving Lane Kiffin a victory in his coaching debut with the Trojans.
Ronald Johnson caught three scoring passes and returned a punt 89 yards for another TD for the Trojans, who posted their 13th straight win in a season opener.
Despite being ranked to start the season and with high aspirations, the Trojans won’t be going to a bowl game. They were hit with a two-year postseason ban as a result of violations stemming from former USC standout football player Reggie Bush and basketball star O.J. Mayo.
Marc Tyler ran for 154 yards and a touchdown for the Trojans (1-0), who are 7-0 all-time against Hawaii.
Barkley, who led USC to an Emerald Bowl win over Boston College last December, completed 18-of-23 passes for 257 yards.
Kiffin, previously an assistant at USC, left Tennessee unceremoniously after just one year and took over for Pete Carroll who once again has jumped to the NFL, this time with the Seahawks.
Bryant Moniz connected on 18-of-36 passes for 269 yards and a score for the Warriors (0-1), but he left the game in the third quarter after taking a blow to the head on a hit from USC linebacker Michael Morgan.
Sep 03 12:13a by Eric Stephen - 0 comments