Thunder in Paradise

On Thursday night the USC Trojans escaped a bushwacking at the hands of the Hawaii Warriors in Aloha Stadium.

If not for a few questionable calls, the Warriors would have won this game.  You may think I'm crazy, but I think Hawaii has one of the best offenses (if not the best) in the country.  The Warriors have another great quarterback named Bryant Moniz, who could break records (both school records and NCAA records).  He finished the night last night with 269 yards and a touchdown before he was knocked out of the game midway in the third quarter.  That's right in the third quarter.  Just imagine his stats if he would have played the whole game.  The Warriors also have a hoard of fast, shifty receivers (just ask the USC cornerbacks).  Kealoha Pilares finished with 5 receptions for 176 yards with 3 TD's.  It was Greg Salas who proved to be Hawaii's go-to-guy, as he finished with 8 receptions for 124 yards.  The Warriors suprisingly have a decent rushing attack this year, led by Alex Green who is quite an intimidating runner (his blacked out visor and multi-colored dreds play a big role in that though).

Don't let ESPN mislead you about this game with their phrases like "USC is back" and..."USC is back." Because they're not back.  They should have lost this game, and they were more scared than a puppy in a thunderstorm.  Monte Kiffin almost had a heart attack as the Warrior offense outgained the Trojan offense by putting up 588 yards on his defense.  That's right 588 yards.  It takes most teams two games to rack up that many yards.

The Warriors had two should-be touchdowns called back by the refs.  The Trojans also took a cheap shot on Hawaii's starting QB Moniz giving him a blatant blow to the head that would keep him out of the game.  Moniz's absence didn't slow up the Warrior offense one bit though.  His replacement Shane Austin came in and went 6 for 9 passing, racking up 141 yards and 2 TD's.  The Trojans went on to win by 13, but if the refs would have given Hawaii their deserved touchdowns it would have been a 1 point win for the Warriors.

It seems that the Trojans favoritism extends all the way to Hawaii.  It's like Kirk Herbstreit and Snoop Dogg are cleverly disguised as the refs for every USC game.  Lane Kiffin must have found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that was hanging over Aloha Stadium, but his luck will run out.  That I can guarantee.  USC is lucky that they can't make it to a bowl game because they might not win enough games this season to go to one anyways.  The Pac 10 is stacked, and they're not going to have any sympathy for the washed up bully that is USC.  The Ducks, Beavers, Golden Bears, and Christmas Tree are all going to knock USC right off their Trojan high horse.

On and end note, watch Hawaii if you get a chance to this season.  It's well worth staying up until 2 or 3 in the morning to do.  They've got a high-flying, run-and-shoot offense that is guaranteed to entertain you.  So do yourself a favor and jump on the Warrior wave.  Also for my college friends, if you live on a college campus (or can get internet access while on a college campus) re-watch this game on ESPN 3.  ESPN 3 is free to all college campuses, so enjoy you lucky kids.  If you don't want to watch the whole game, at least check out the 3rd quarter.  You'll get to see spectacular plays from both teams, and you'll also see Hawaii get hosed like a fire department by the refs.

So go ahead, Surf it up Dudes:  http://www.espn3.com/