For the second straight week, the most difficult opponent USC faced at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum wasn’t wearing a different-colored jersey.
It was the announced attendance and empty seats inside the stadium.
After a poorly-attended crowd for last Saturday’s 42-26 victory over San Jose State became a national punchline, USC returned to the Coliseum on Friday night against Fresno State with its attendance suddenly carrying as much intrigue as the final scoreboard.
The good news? It looked better.
The bad news? This is USC. “Better” isn’t supposed to be the standard.
Once again, there were legitimate circumstances working against the Trojans again. Scheduling a 6:00PM PT kickoff on a Friday in Los Angeles, at the start of Labor Day weekend, is practically an invitation to spend the opening drive staring at brake lights on the 10 and 110 Freeway.
As expected, fans continued to filter into the Coliseum gates throughout the first and second quarters, slowly filling sections that looked alarmingly sparse at kickoff. By nightfall, the atmosphere was noticeably livelier than the triple-digit afternoon furnace USC played in against San Jose State six days earlier.
Still, this is not a return to the Trojans’ glory days.
The estimated attendance was roughly 45,000, an increase from USC’s opener by several thousand people, but still well below the 77,500-seat capacity at the Coliseum. It’s yet another reminder that Lincoln Riley’s program has some work to do beyond winning football games.
For almost a decade in the mid-2000s, the Coliseum was the epicenter of the college football universe. Recruits noticed. Television cameras noticed and opponents were intimidated.
Two games into the 2026 season and the cameras are noticing empty seats. If USC keeps winning, then hopefully they’ll give fans a reason to show up and fill the Coliseum once again.
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