USC Has Publicly Responded To Its Horrible Week 0 Crowd Turnout

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The USC Trojans opened the 2026 college football regular season with a victory in Week 0, blowing out San Jose State, 42-26.

But as the Trojans got out to a 1-0 start, there was an embarrassingly low crowd turnout inside of the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.

“College football is dying use to go to games and knew the players now days they change players like you change clothes you don’t know who is going to be there just another factory not much to see here no loyalty in the players mostly just money deal,” one fan wrote.

“What has happened to USC?!??” one fan added.

USC fans, meanwhile, have defended the poor crown turnout, citing high temperatures and tough conditions.

“It’s literally 100° on the field with probably 80% humidity. Whoever scheduled the game in the afternoon knowing that usually August and September are the warmer months in Los Angeles but it’s been abnormally warm, these last couple months is dumb,” one fan aded.

USC publicly responds to the criticism

USC released a statement on the official crowd of 51,144 – the lowest of the Lincoln Riley era to date.

“We understand the factors that impacted Saturday’s attendance,” USC said, per Jordan Mendoza of USA Today. “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.”

USC will have some opportunities for big crowds later this year, as the Trojans are scheduled to host both Ohio State and Oregon in Southern California.

The Trojans will look to have bigger, more impressive crowds as the 2026 college football regular season continues. Hopefully, the fan support will improve as the season goes on.

This story was originally published by The Spun on Aug 31, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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