Dave Reardon
Star-Advertiser sports columnist

Welcome to the club, Norm Chow. June Jones and Greg McMackin also got saddled with ridiculously tough opening acts as UH football coaches.

Jones’ team was crushed 62-7 by USC in his 1999 debut, and McMackin’s was bounced 56-10 at Florida in 2008. The good news is that both of those teams managed to improve enough to make it to bowl games those same seasons.

Hawaii could be in for a lopsided loss this year, since USC is a preseason No. 1 in the AP poll and the Warriors are learning a new offense, and with new personnel at more than half of the positions.

The Trojans’ strength is their offense, especially quarterback Matt Barkley and receivers Marquis Lee and Robert Woods. Barkley is considered the preseason favorite for the Heisman. UH’s secondary looks pretty good, but will get all it can handle from Lee and Woods.

The biggest loss for UH in the offseason was punter Alex Dunnachie. He weighed heavily in Chow’s plans of playing a strong field-position game. Dunnachie was the player Hawaii could least afford to lose.

Ferd Lewis
Star-Advertiser sports columnist

Not being in awe of USC, the No. 1 team in the preseason polls is one goal for the University of Hawaii.

Not being star-struck by the distractions is another.

By way of illustration, in the Warriors’ last visit in 2003, free safety Leonard Peters looked up and was stunned to see NFL Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Allen on the sidelines.

So, Peters went over and said "hi" and shook the former USC All-American’s hand. "All of a sudden, there he was and I had to meet him," Peters said at the time. As for Allen, Peters said, "He told me I should get back to the game."

Playing the Trojans before a full house in the 93,607-seat Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is tough enough without the distractions, leading to a 52-13 USC win.

Jason Kaneshiro
Star-Advertiser sports reporter

Like the two head coaches preceding him, Norm Chow will make his Hawaii debut by leading the Warriors against a national power featuring a quarterback with impressive credentials.

Of course, he’d rather avoid an outcome similar to June Jones’ 1999 opener when Carson Palmer powered USC to a 62-7 win or UH’s 46-point loss to Tim Tebow-led Florida in Greg McMackin’s inaugural game in 2008.

USC has averaged nearly 59 points in the last four games in the series with UH and there aren’t a lot of teams equipped to keep pace with a Trojans offense headlined by QB Matt Barkley and an array of game-breaking talent.

As the UH offense breaks in new starters into a new system, the Warriors will have to find their footing early on or face an all-too-familiar ending.

Paul Arnett
Star-Advertiser sports editor

You’d like to believe in miracles when it comes to Hawaii’s chances in today’s game against No. 1-ranked Southern California, but it’s unlikely rookie head coach Norm Chow will get one.

The Trojans have to be careful not to get anyone hurt. They have a great front-line team, but depth could be a problem if a first-teamer goes down for the count. Hawaii’s offensive line is unproven and USC’s defensive front is not the best in the land.

Hawaii will need to keep the ball away from USC’s potent offense as much as possible and can ill-afford any turnovers. Should the Warriors do both, this could be more respectable than some might first think. But if UH has a lot of three-and-outs, coupled with turnovers on the short side of the field, then this one will get ugly in a hurry.