Overview
- USC beat San Jose State 42-26 on Saturday but announced attendance of 51,144 at the 77,500-seat Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum left large visible swaths of empty seats.
- Television and social-media shots of mostly empty sections went viral and prompted widespread criticism that the crowd was the story despite a decisive on-field win.
- The athletic department said extreme heat, a midday kickoff and a weak opponent were primary reasons for low turnout and noted it had deployed a heat plan with extra cooling stations and relaxed water rules.
- USC said it surveyed thousands of fans after the game and will roll out gameday promotions intended to boost turnout for upcoming home dates that include Oregon, Washington and Ohio State.
- The low opener is the smallest announced home crowd since 2018 and raises questions about home-field atmosphere and program optics that USC hopes to answer during its marquee conference matchups this season.