After being told that the University of Southern California would be vacating its victories from the 2005 season for NCAA violations, former Hawaii football coach June Jones exclaimed, "We finally beat USC, once."

Well, not exactly.

While the Trojans will be vacating that 63-17 season-opening victory over the Warriors in which running back Reggie Bush played after being determined to have received impermissible benefits, Hawaii will not receive credit for a victory.

"Too bad," Jones said, "we would have been 6-6 (instead of 5-7). We would have been bowl eligible."

UH is 0-6 vs. USC

Another former UH opponent, Alabama, was required to vacate victories in 2006, but UH wasn’t allowed to reverse that one, a 25-17 loss at Tuscaloosa, either.

Had the Trojans or Crimson Tide been ordered to forfeit the games, UH could have changed its record to denote victories. But by vacating them, USC and Alabama can’t count them as victories.

So, for UH’s purposes, it is like USC quarterback Matt Leinart didn’t pass for those 332 yards and three touchdowns. And Bush did not run for 86 yards on 11 carries.

The game also marked the debut of Colt Brennan off the bench as a UH quarterback.

By contrast, in its 1973-74 men’s basketball season UH was eventually forced to forfeit its Rainbow Classic championship victory over Purdue due to the use of an ineligible player.

In recent years the NCAA has gotten away from ordering the forfeiture of games and mandating that victories be vacated.