Tough enough UH is beaten but not beaten up

LOS ANGELES » If this were 1980, I’d rip the heck out of Lane Kiffin in this space today.

Some might say the USC coach deserves it anyway, but the etiquette of college football has changed. It did quite a while ago. If you want to run up the score and you can, go for it. It’s not your fault if the other guys can’t stop you.

The funny thing is Kiffin did try Saturday against Hawaii, but ended up with a second-half stalemate and a 49-10 win after the Trojans built up a big lead in the first half despite plenty of mistakes against the young and jittery Warriors.

USC quarterback Matt Barkley called the win "bittersweet" and gave his offense a C grade.

"We left a lot of points on the table. It felt like we could have scored 100 points in the first half."

Kiffin tried to hit the century mark. He kept throwing. He kept going for two. He didn’t leave his starters in too long, but he didn’t exactly shut things down, either.

And not that UH expected or even wanted mercy. Norm Chow, his staff, and his players know the score. And they know that a lopsided one, a win in hand early, doesn’t mean you get any breaks from the opponents.

The second half was just going to be mopping up, Barkley padding his lead in the Heisman hunt and the Mighty Trojans cementing No. 1 in the AP poll.

But try as it might, USC couldn’t run it up. It couldn’t get its offense on the field enough to do so. Sure, that 100-yard kickoff return by Marqise Lee brought things back to reality. But other than that, UH owned the third quarter.

The Warriors came out of intermission doing what they had wanted to do from the beginning of the game: methodically drive down the field, keeping the USC defense off-balance with a variety of short passes and runs from different formations.

After a horrific first half, they scored and they played tough defense.

This was refreshing for UH fans, because it meant the Warriors had made significant halftime adjustments. Chow said one was countering USC’s cover-3 defense. Quarterback Sean Schroeder and receiver Scott Harding said this figured into the touchdown play.

After, the Warriors looked and talked like they were ready to play another game, right away. No significant injuries, no limps. They hate that they have a bye now; they gained confidence in that second half, playing the No. 1 team in the country even.

This may be the first UH game where I saw not one player leave the stadium on crutches or with an arm in a sling. They were beaten, but in no way beaten up.

"We started the second half like it was 0-0 and the first drive showed, and it showed our fans, that we could actually play football," Harding said.

We already knew Schroeder was smart and could pass. Now we know he’s tough.

"We started only one senior and a bunch of kids who never played before," Chow said. "I told our kids we could still go (11-1)."

Well, if you kept watching after halftime, you know 1-1 is a lock if you didn’t before.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783.