1. Laurels for Laurel
» Situation: USC 3, Hawaii 0, 14:11 remaining, second quarter, USC ball, first and 10 at USC 1
» The Play: LB Art Laurel sacks QB Cody Kessler behind the goal line for a safety.
» Impact: Hawaii gets on the scoreboard and USC is forced to kick the ball back to Hawaii, which then gets a 42-yard field goal by Tyler Hadden to take a 5-3 lead. Hawaii’s defense played well before tiring in the fourth quarter.
» Laurel: "We did a good job of stopping the run, but we came out with a loss. We’ve just got to come back and get ready for Oregon State."
2. Cashing In
» Situation: Hawaii 5, USC 3, 4:23 remaining, second quarter, USC ball, first and 10 at Hawaii 19
» The Play: Kessler throws a 19-yard touchdown pass to WR Nelson Agholor.
» Impact: USC retakes the lead, which it never relinquishes. The 30-yard scoring drive was set up by LB Hayes Pullard intercepting QB Taylor Graham’s pass — one of four picks of the first-time college starter.
» Pullard: "It was similar … to playing against a team with a freshman quarterback out there. We wanted to get him frustrated, make him turn the ball over."
3. Pick 6
» Situation: USC 10, Hawaii 5, 2:54 remaining, second quarter, Hawaii ball, third and 7 at own 31
» The Play: FS Josh Shaw intercepts a Graham pass that bounces off WR Marcus Kemp and returns it 35 yards for a touchdown.
» Impact: Add a 52-yard field goal by Andre Heidari to end the half, and USC goes into the locker room with a 20-5 lead after scoring 17 unanswered points.
» Shaw: "It was an instinctive play. Once I got the ball in my hands, I had to make a guy miss. The whole defense did a great job blocking for me."
4. Momentum Killer
» Situation: USC 20, Hawaii 5, 3:16 remaining, third quarter, Hawaii ball, first and 10 at USC 25
» The Play: Graham under-throws an open receiver in the end zone and FS Josh Shaw intercepts it at the USC 10.
» Impact: One of Hawaii’s few promising drives, which had started at its own 17, ends in disappointment and no points with Graham’s fourth pick.
» Hawaii coach Norm Chow: "(Graham) made some mistakes. USC did a good job of disguising its coverages. He knows the mistakes he made and will learn from it."
5. Covering
» Situation: USC 30, Hawaii 5, 0:36 remaining, fourth quarter, UH ball, second and 10 at own 40
» The Play: Graham finds WR Keith Kirkwood deep behind the USC defense for a touchdown.
» Impact: The Hawaii offense gets something to build upon headed into Oregon State. Many fans applaud, some surely because the score means 24-point underdog Hawaii covers the betting spread.
» Kirkwood: "In the beginning of the game there were things we needed to click, and you can’t wait until the last minute for things like that to happen."
