LOS ANGELES - The heat at the Coliseum was impossible to ignore Saturday, and so was the chatter that followed USC’s 42-26 win over San José State.
By the time kickoff arrived, the temperature had reached 94 degrees, tying the mark for the hottest USC game ever played inside the Coliseum. The thermometer at the corner of the stadium had been edging toward 100 just two hours before the Trojans took the field. The crowd was listed at 51,144 in a building that seats 77,500, and the postgame conversation quickly shifted from the scoreboard to the empty patches in the stands.
Lincoln Riley wasn’t interested in buying into that noise.
“This is USC. People are going to pay attention,” Riley said Tuesday.
“People are going to have an opinion. It’s part of being at a blue-blood school.
I don’t buy into the false narrative. I think that comes from a lot of people that don’t follow our program, and most of those who have never set foot in the Coliseum.”
The optics of the game drew attention well beyond Los Angeles. Still photos from NBC’s broadcast that showed sparse sections of the stadium sparked criticism from sports personality Dave Portnoy, who called the turnout an “absolute disgrace.” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire also addressed the subject Monday, pointing to the appeal of a packed home crowd in Lubbock.
Red Raiders Athletics had already announced a sellout of its primary ticket inventory for the Aug. 21 season opener against Abilene Christian, and McGuire used that backdrop to make his point.
“Not to take any shots - because I have a lot of respect for USC and Lincoln Riley - but, man, it’s really awesome to be playing in Lubbock, Texas, knowing we’re going to be playing in front of 60,000,” McGuire said.
“And it’s going to be warm. It’s going to be every bit as warm as it was Saturday.
The great thing is, we got some really tough people in West Texas that love their football and they’re going to show up no matter what the weather’s like. There’s not going to be any excuse of why they’re not going to be there for us.”
Cal coach Tosh Lupoi added his own reaction Tuesday.
“I don’t mean this by any disrespect to anybody, but to turn on the TV … to see that environment in Los Angeles, that’s disheartening to see,” Lupoi told reporters. “I can guarantee you that’s a completely different environment here.”
The weather made life difficult for the people who did show up. Fans looked for shade in the concourse as humidity climbed to 74% late in a National Weather Service heat advisory. An LAFD spokesperson told Southern California News Group that the department made 15 patient contacts, including one transport to a local hospital.
LAFD did not say how many of those cases were tied to the heat, but Ethan “Boobie” Feaster’s father, Lee, offered a firsthand account on social media.
“I see people talking,” Feaster wrote in a post on X. “We are from The Boot and we live in TX, but Saturday was a different type of heat in LA … My wife has blisters. She passed out along with 15-20 other people in the medical tent.”
USC now turns to Fresno State on Friday at 6 p.m. in a pre-Labor Day Weekend game, and the attention won’t just be on the matchup itself. The Trojans are on a shortened week after opening with San José State, and the off-field conversation figures to keep following them.
That’s not new territory for Riley’s program. USC averaged 67,782 fans per home game in 2025, down a bit from 71,571 in 2024, but attendance has risen every other year of Riley’s tenure. The Trojans averaged 64,484 in 2022 and 66,071 in 2023.
The challenge of pulling in Southern California sports fans is real, especially with the Dodgers hosting the Washington Nationals at 7:10 p.m. Friday and Labor Day weekend traffic adding another layer of inconvenience. FOX will carry the game nationally, and even with cooler temperatures expected, there are plenty of reasons some fans may stay home and watch from the couch.
Riley pointed to the bigger picture and said the numbers have trended the right way.
“The reality is - during my years here, the attendance has gone up every single year, as has our play in the Coliseum,” Riley said, “including running the table last year in front of a lot of epic atmospheres. And I expect that to happen again this year.”
In Other News...
USC Depth Chart Leaves One Big Question Before Fresno State
USCs updated depth chart for Fresno State brought a few encouraging signs, especially up front, where defensive linemen Jahkeem Stewart and Braylan Shelby are back after being sidelined by injuries. Freshmen still show up prominently across the board, and the latest listing included some shuffling at safety and receiver as the staff keeps sorting out where the best early-season fits are.
The bigger question is how much of that depth chart will actually translate to game reps. USC has been careful with injured players, and the new look suggests the coaches are balancing available talent with long-term caution as they head into a matchup that should help reveal how much theyre willing to lean on those returning pieces right away. [Read more 🡒]
USC Attendance Backlash Just Got A Troubling Coliseum Reality Check
USCs season-opening home date against San Jos State brought more than a routine September box score. The announced crowd of 51,114 at the Coliseum looked far different in person, with plenty of empty seats visible as fans and observers debated the turnout online and pointed to everything from the weather to general fan sentiment around the program.
Freshman receiver Ethan Feasters family saw the day up close, and his father described the conditions as extreme heat that left several fans, including his wife, dealing with heat-related issues. The backdrop only added to the noise around the attendance conversation, turning what should have been a straightforward opener into another reminder of how closely USCs home atmosphere is being watched. [Read more 🡒]
USCs Opener Put A Young Trojan At The Center Of Attention
USCs season opener at the Coliseum gave the offense a clean enough launching point, and Pro Football Focus snap-by-snap grades suggested one of the more encouraging signs came from an unexpected place. In the Trojans 42-26 win over San Jose State, Trent Mosley emerged as the highest-graded USC offensive player with a 90.7 rating, a notable mark for a young player in a game that offered a first real look at how the group would settle in.
Jayden Maiava and several other USC offensive players also drew detailed evaluations for their work in the opener, adding some early context to how the unit functioned beyond the final score. For a team trying to establish rhythm and identify dependable pieces right away, Mosleys showing gives the Trojans something to keep an eye on as the season moves forward. [Read more 🡒]