Several months ago, when ESPN inquired about moving the date of the football season opener, University of Hawai'i athletic director Herman Frazier found himself with some rare leverage in dealing with the "worldwide leader in sports."

Suddenly, he was the AD that could say "no" to the 800-pound gorilla. No Thursday, no Friday, no Monday, thank you.

Of course, in adopting a take-it-or-leave-it stance on today's 1:05 p.m. game, Frazier was holding the ace in the hole: two-time defending national champion Southern California. With the biggest story in college football opening his schedule in his home stadium, Frazier knew ESPN would come around eventually.

Indeed, the Trojans have become something of an all-purpose platinum card for UH today. USC has given the Warriors entree to a world rarely visited.

Playing its first reigning No. 1 team since 1971 has provided UH, a team that plays most of its home games after much of the nation has gone to sleep, a prime time East Coast stage on a holiday weekend. It has given the Warriors, far from a date against Rice or Tulsa, an attraction that has appeal far and wide.

If you are judged by the company you keep, then for opening weekend, the Warriors' grid cred has spiked. They might be the designated opponent in their own stadium, but at least people will be filling it and tuning in. They are 36-point underdogs, but the score, whatever it turns out to be, matters in places that hardly noticed Hawai'i's results before.

The best part for the Warriors is that few expectations come attached to them. The pressure in this one is all on the cardinal and gold and its All-American-stuffed lineup as the quest for a three-peat commences.

Meanwhile, with so many question marks on a team that must replace its quarterback, running back, receivers and a lot of the defense, nobody knows what these Warriors are capable of, much less what standards to demand. The room for a pleasant surprise is considerable even without a victory.

For an athletic department that has run on a deficit for three consecutive years, this first sellout since Alabama in 2002 amounts to a seven-figure cashier's check from heaven. Along with today's gate, having USC on the marquee has allowed UH to push through its heftiest round of premium seating fees without igniting wholesale insurrection.

And UH has contracted USC's presence at a bargain price: $175 "round trip airfare(s)" on the "most economical on a major American carrier" plus $95 "... hotel rooms for three nights" and a "$40,000 financial guarantee."

After too much Florida Atlantic, Appalachian State, Eastern Illinois, etc., USC's presence has finally given Hawai'i an opener that really feels like one.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.