51,144, and a lot of empty seats
The Coliseum did not fill up. Southern California beat San Jose State 42-26 on Saturday, the No. 14 Trojans opened their season with a win, and large sections of the stadium stayed bare while it happened.
The announced crowd was 51,144. That is the smallest for a USC home game since Lincoln Riley took over in 2022, and by Monday the athletic department had decided it needed to say something.
“We understand the factors that impacted Saturday’s attendance,” USC said in a statement. “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.”
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The heat did most of the damage
Kickoff was at noon. Los Angeles sat in the mid-90s with a heat index above 100, and the National Weather Service had a heat advisory running for the county through Saturday evening.
USC tried to soften it. Cooling stations went up, extra fans were brought in, spectators were allowed to carry more water into the building. It was not enough. People drifted out of their seats and into whatever shade the old bowl could offer.
The players felt it too. “I didn’t like it,” defensive tackle Jide Abasiri said of the conditions. “Being from Minnesota, snow games are my preference over the super hot games.”
A quick chance to fix it
The gap with last year is real. USC’s 2025 opener against Missouri State drew an announced 62,841 in a late-afternoon slot, more than 11,000 above Saturday’s figure against a comparable opponent.
Fresno State comes to the Coliseum on Friday night. Different hour, different temperature, and a fairly clean test of whether Saturday was about the weather or about something the school would rather not name.
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