The nation’s top ranked team and the hope of many SEC haters everywhere, USC, will take the field tonight for its season opener. The Trojans face the Mountain West’s Hawaii Warriors at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum; the game, which has a scheduled start time of 7:30pm ET, will not be broadcast on television. Hawaii at USC Odds, as expected, have Lane Kiffin’s crew listed as a heavy favorite; the Trojans are giving 42 points to the Warriors while the game total is set at 63 points.

Given USC’s suspension and subsequent loss of scholarships many wondered how long it would take the program to return to power. Well, the Trojans provided an emphatic answer last season, posting a 10-2 record while winning the PAC 12’s newly minted South Division with a 7-2 conference record.

USC was nearly unstoppable following an ugly 22-43 loss at Arizona State with only a 48-56 triple overtime loss to Stanford separating it from an 8-0 run to finish the season. The strong close to the 2011 campaign and Matt Barkley’s decision to stay on for his senior season has many believing the Trojans could end the SEC’s BCS National Championship reign.

First things first, though, and that means taking care of business against Hawaii this evening and also finding a way to supplant an Oregon program that wrested control of the PAC 12 while USC suffered the consequences of its failure to comply with NCAA rules.

The first of those assignments is, obviously, the easier of the two as Hawaii stands little change of anything but a back door cover in tonight’s contest. Two seasons ago the Warriors made a strong showing against the Trojans before eventually falling 36-49 at Aloha Stadium. The horses that powered those offensive fireworks, namely quarterback Bryant Moniz and wide receiver Kealoha Pilares, are gone, though.

This year’s Hawaii squad returns just 10 starters and is under the direction of a new head coach in former USC and UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow. However, a cover is not out of the possibility, particularly with the massive spread. USC has shown a propensity to start slow under Head Coach Lane Kiffin, going 0-3 against the spread to open the 2010 season, Kiffin’s first on the job, and it was nearly embarrassed in last year’s opener as an inept Minnesota team took the game to the wire before falling 19-17.

Free Pick: Lean to Hawaii +42.

Hawaii at USC Odds:

Hawaii Warriors +42 (-110), Over 63 (-110)

USC Trojans -42 (-110), Under 63 (-110)

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