2 weeks Ago By Andrew Hughes
LA Memorial Coliseum was a ghost town for Rutgers-USC and NJ.com’s Steve Politi was the messenger of the empty stands. To the Trojan fanbase’s credit, there was Game 1 of the World Series between the Dodgers and New York Yankees, concerts, and Lakers/Clippers games going on at the same time.
USC hasn’t exactly earned many fans with a 3-4 start to the season. Rutgers’ feel-good 4-0 start has faded with three straight losses. Politi might have been polite in explaining away the lack of a crowd, but a quality product would have fans in the stands.
“There is nooooooobody here but in fairness I’ve been told there are other sporting events in the city tonight,” Politi tweeted. 68,110 fans could fit in that stadium and they will fill it for several different teams, per a team press release . “The USC football games versus Wisconsin on Sept.
28 and Nebraska on Nov. 16 in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum are officially sold out,” the press release read. “USC's last two home sellouts were in 2023 against No.
5 Washington and UCLA. “USC boasted stellar attendance numbers in its home opener on Sept. 7 versus Utah State.
With 68,110 fans in the Coliseum, it was the largest crowd for a home opener since 2015. Additionally, the Utah State game recorded the best attendance numbers for a non-conference / non-Notre Dame game since the Trojans hosted Texas in front of a sold out crowd in 2017.” After the LSU win, excitement grew enough to be a box office draw with Utah State in town.
But Wisconsin and Nebraska fans travel. Those games may not be the Trojans’ to brag about from a crowd-size perspective. USC legend Matt Leinart shares two-word reaction to pitiful crowd When 2004 Heisman winner Matt Leinart can’t hide his disappointment, you know USC legends feel disrespected in the fanbase’s current output.
Leinart had two words to convey a powerful point. “That’s sad,” he tweeted . With Lincoln Riley’s future saved by his massive potential buyout but providing fans little hope in the interim, USC looks like it’ll endure a malaise for years in a more competitive Big Ten than the Pac-12 they left.
If Trojan fans aren’t showing up and spending money, USC may not be able to buy out Riley if they want to ..
