USC Athletics Acknowledge Season-Opening Attendance Concerns

But perhaps no other topic kept being brought up more than the lack of attendnce from USC fans.

Social media was blasting USC about the lack of attendance at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday, and it showed.

When the Trojans marched out of the tunnel at noon, a third of the Coliseum’s shadeless seats were taken up, at best. Keep in mind a ticket to this game was just $9.

Well, after all the criticism, USC has addressed the lack of attendance.

USC Athletic’s Statement

On Sunday, USC released a statement understanding the factors that led to the poor attendance.

“We have high expectations and a premier home schedule this season, and we know the competitive advantage an electric Coliseum atmosphere can provide our program. We thank our fans who showed up Saturday and look forward to seeing increased attendance the rest of the season,” the statement read, per an X post by The Athletic's Ira Gorawara.

In addition, the school said they received “a lot of feedback” that weather was a big factor drawing fans away.

Temperatures were in the 90’s during kickoff and the Coliseum had almost no shade for the spectators that went.

The official game attendance provided by USC was 51,114.

Ironically, that wasn’t what the nation saw during the NBC broadcast with a huge portion of the cardinal seats in the 77,500-seat Coliseum empty. It’s important to note that USC was also the only ranked opponent to play on Saturday.

USC’s opener also arguably couldn’t have come on a more ideal day either. None of Los Angeles’ sports teams had games going on in the city.

But Lincoln Riley agrees that in order to draw the crowd, the Trojans need to win first and this year is more important than ever.

“I understand that Los Angeles is a place that people aren’t going to show up just because. You have to win. You have to give them something. And when you do, there’s no better sports town," Riley said.

So, what should the expectation be for USC players and the college football world?

There is Still Time to Turn Attendance Around

It can be argued that San José State just wasn’t a must-see opponent for most fans and it was only just game one.

Well, USC still plays two more non-conference opponents before Big Ten play starts.

The Trojans host Fresno State Friday night and well, the weather shouldn’t be much of a factor given kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Per AccuWeather’s forecast, temperatures will only reach 86 degrees on Friday, and the nightly forecast will reach as low as 68.

If the fans don’t show up Friday night, well frankly the excuses can’t possibly get any bigger.

The next home game will bring second-ranked Oregon to town, surely to draw more crowd into the Coliseum. The Sept. 26 matchup has many speculating that ESPN’s College GameDay could be bound for Los Angeles.

The Trojans also host No. 2 Ohio State and No. 17 Washington later in the season.

For now, USC just needs to keep winning in order to reconquer the hearts and eyes of their city and it will take much more than a San José State or even a Fresno State to do it.