The Higgs is what Popper called a "risky prediction" in his writing. Not seeing a spike (the expected outcome without the theory) would have falsified it, so it

The Higgs is what Popper called a "risky prediction" in his writing. Not seeing a spike (the expected outcome without the theory) would have falsified it, so it qualifies as science. You could say that 125 GeV was one of a few different predictions, but it was still risky to predict a spike somewhere around there. Also the hardcore Popperians will reply that many people who the mainstream considers scientists don't actually do science ;)