My argument isn't about USC
You certainly could have worded it better, talking about teams backing out and then lumping us in there.
Hawaii is a popular away game, in fact, we try not to schedule them at home. An alumni trip along with the benefit of getting the extra game.
However, that year, Hawaii could only squeeze us in before the home opener (Idaho) and our first road game (Nebraska). There was no competitive advantage to squeezing in a road game against Hawaii. Especially when the outcome of the 2005 game was still fresh in people's memories.
The system "is what it is", until a playoff is put in place it will always be flawed.
Even when you have a perfect 1 vs 2 matchup (Oklahoma/USC Orange Bowl) you will always have someone chirping that they should've had a shot (Auburn, Utah, but mostly Auburn
)