USC football news: Dave Portnoy rips Trojans over empty Coliseum seats

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The USC Trojans earned a dominant 42-26 Week 0 win over the San Jose State Spartans. However, virtually nobody is talking about the victory, as all of the attention is on the lack of fans at the Coliseum. Barstool Sports’ founder Dave Portnoy flamed the program early Monday morning for what he saw in Southern California over the weekend.

Portnoy claimed that the lack of attendance should be enough for five-star recruits to sign with other programs instead. The 49-year-old entrepreneur and sports personality went as far as to claim that USC just isn’t a real college football team.

“If I go to USC and I’m a player. And I’m a five-star, I don’t care they’re good. This is an automatic Forest Gump situation,” Portnoy said. “You run on the field, you just keep running to the opposite tunnel, and when you come out you’re in different colors.

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“I don’t care how much [USC is] paying you. To go play [in front of that], this is a disgrace,” Portnoy continued. “Don’t give me heat, don’t give me you start early. If you’re a real college football team this doesn’t happen in a million years. It’s an absolute disgrace.”

Dave Portnoy dismissed the heat as an excuse as to why the attendence for Saturday’s game was so low. However, that is what USC fans are claiming as the reason for opting out of attending the season opener, according to Ira Gorawara of The Athletic. The program did what it could by installing cooling stations, but it just wasn’t enough to get people to the Coliseum.

“In response to multiple questions from The Athletic, a USC spokesman said the school received a lot of feedback that weather was a factor in fans not showing up for the game,” Gorawara wrote. “The school implemented a heat plan with additional cooling stations around the stadium and allowed fans to bring in additional water.”

USC fans simply had a choice for the matchup. Sit and bake in the 94-degree heat in a stadium that provides little to no shade, or watch the game comfortably in their air-conditioned homes. It appears a majority of the fanbase chose the latter.

Fans will have a chance to redeem themselves in Week 1, as USC is scheduled for another home game at the Coliseum on Friday, September 4. The Trojans will take on the Fresno State Bulldogs as they eye a 2-0 start to the new season.

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