This Date in College Football Belt History – December 2

The 3^rd ranked, 10-1 Southern Cal Trojans of coach John Robinson closed the regular season with a trip to meet the 6-4 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors coached by Dick Tomey.  Playing without QB Paul McDonald who had an ankle injury, the Trojans overcame 14 penalties totaling 157 yards to claim a 21-5 victory over Hawaii behind the 152 yards rushing with a touchdown of All-American RB Charles White to retain The Belt.  The Rainbow Warriors took the lead in the 1^st quarter after Southern Cal’s RB Dwight Ford fumbled & Hawaii recovered at the Southern Cal 43-yard line.  When Rainbow Warriors’ PK Peter Kim kicked a 27-yard field goal, Hawaii had a 3-0 lead.  The Trojans responded with an 8-play, 68-yard drive with White scoring on an 18-yard touchdown run.  Neither team managed to score in the 2^nd quarter & the Trojans had a 7-3 halftime lead.  Hawaii got closer in the 3^rd quarter when Southern Cal’s All-Pac 10 P Marty King had a snap go through the end zone for a safety but the Rainbow Warriors still trailed 7-5 entering the 4^th quarter.  The Trojans finally secured the win in the 4^th quarter with a 2-yard touchdown pass from QB Rob Preston to TE Vic Rakhshani & a 16-yard interception returned for a touchdown by Southern Cal’s LB Riki Gray.  Hawaii almost stunned the Trojans midway through the 4^th quarter when RB David Toloumu threw a halfback throwback pass to QB Jeff Duva who was open in the end zone but the ball fell to the turf.  The penalties called against Southern Cal kept the game much closer than expected.  A personal foul call negated a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown by Trojans’ S Ronnie Lott & a Southern Cal fumble recovery in the 4^th quarter was overturned when an official said a fan wearing a USC button called him a derogatory name.  Preston finished with 154 yards passing with a touchdown as well as an interception.  For Hawaii, Duva threw for 161 yards with 2 interceptions in the loss.  Southern Cal finished the season 12-1; Pac-10 Champions & ranked 2^nd nationally while the Rainbow Warriors finished 6-5.  Hawaii would play for The Belt again in 1994.

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