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The 2026 college football season got underway with USC off to a winning start among the slate of Week 0 games.
But fans tuning in to watch the Trojans were left shocked by the enormous number of empty seats at the iconic LA Coliseum.
The 77,500-capacity stadium has been home to the USC football team since 1923 and has been home to some of college football's most iconic moments.
However, barely anyone turned out to watch the opening game of the new season, with Lincoln Riley walking out arm in arm with his team and leading them into a sparsely populated stadium to face San Jose State.
The Trojans ran out 42-26 winners after a dominant first half led by quarterback Jayden Maiava saw them lead 28-0 at the interval. But fans flocked to social media to mock the lack of fans, branding the spectacle 'embarrassing' for USC.
The opponent clearly made the game a tough sell, with tickets hitting less than $10 on resale sites before the game. USC announced a 51,144 crowd, but local reporters estimated less than half of that actually attended the game.
The LA Coliseum, home of the USC Trojans, is one of the most iconic stadiums in America
Empty seats dominated the landscape as fans tuned in to watch USC face San Jose State
The Trojans put on a show but barely anyone was in attendance to see it in Week 0
And it could have been very different: San Jose State was only added to the schedule in February to replace Notre Dame.
The historic rivalry game was pulled after the two schools were unable to reach an agreement. It was claimed timing of the matchup was a source of dispute, and this Week 0 slot was reportedly suggested by USC in the discussions but rejected by their rivals.
The schools have since agreed to resume games starting in 2030, with the games being played in Week 1 in 2030 and 2031 then Week 1, 2 or 3 in 2032 and 2033.
And those matchups are certain to generate a far bigger crowd than the small offering for San Jose State in the non-conference schedule slot.
The weather was also a factor, after the game was scheduled for a midday kickoff. According to AccuWeather, temperature at kick off was 94 degrees, with a real feel temperature of 104 degrees.
Former NFL player Will Blackmon attended the game and later posted on social media: 'For everyone dissing the USC attendance I was at the game today. It was outrageously hot and humid with zero shade.
'No breeze. Nada. (I lived in Dallas and Jacksonville) We could barely survive the 1st quarter and they are playing San Jose State at 12pm. Lol Brutal.'
Head coach Lincoln Riley has previously discussed the need to give fans a reason to fill the Coliseum. After the team averaged 67,783 home fans in 2025, he said: 'You have to win. You have to give them something.'
Lincoln Riley led out his USC team in front of sparsely populated stands in California
USC comfortably won the game despite the Spartans finishing strong in the fourth quarter
Fans who did attend the game braved hot conditions in Los Angeles with a midday kickoff
Home games against Oregon, Washington and Ohio State later in the schedule will no doubt bring far more fans into the iconic stadium, that will host its third Summer Olympic games in 2028.
Speaking after the win over San Jose State, Riley was critical of some aspects of his team but pleased to get their first game out of the way.
'Good to get the first one under our belt,' Riley said. 'But kind of a tale of two games for us.'
'First three quarters, a lot of really good football out there with all three sides playing complementary. They dominated the game for three quarters. Exciting ball and a lot of our guys' first games as Trojans. They made a lot of big plays, so obviously that was the highlight of it.
'Fourth quarter, not up to our standards. A bunch of guys who got opportunities and had several who did not play the way we anticipated. They'll need to learn and grow from it because we're going to need the depth of this roster. We challenged that in the fourth quarter and we did not respond the way we wanted to.
'Games like this, I take it for what it is. You don't hide behind the fact that the fourth quarter wasn't good enough and we're not going to pretend that we didn't dominate the game.
'We have a lot of work to do, especially with the short week coming up. We'll have to turn this over quick. The first and second games is where you make a lot of improvements. We've got to go attack this week in short order.'
