Tosh Lupoi gets brtually honest about USC over Week 0 crowd with California football recruiting pitch

California Golden Bears head coach Tosh Lupoi couldn’t help but speak up about the USC Trojans’ seemingly sparse crowd during a Week 0 game.

A photo showing the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before USC’s season opener against the San Jose State Spartans last Saturday went viral after fans noticed the sparse crowd.

Lupoi recently commented on the crowd size in that contest, while also sneaking in a subtle recruitment pitch.

“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 … I can guarantee you that’s a completely different environment here,” Lupoi said (h/t Joaquin Ruiz of The Los Angeles Times).

The 45-year-old Lupoi is in his first season as head coach of California football, which is also in its third season as a member of the ACC. The Golden Bears and the Trojans used to be Pac-12 rivals, but Lupoi, who played college football for California, apparently isn’t letting the programs’ departures to different conferences stop him from keeping tabs on USC.

But at least for USC, it took care of business in its opener, crushing the Spartans to the tune of a 42-26. The Trojans’ home could look livelier this coming Friday, as the 1-0 USC take on the Fresno State Bulldogs at the same stadium.

Meanwhile, Lupoi and the Golden Bears will kick off their 2026 campaign Saturday versus the visiting UCLA Bruins at California Memorial Stadium.

In 2025, California football went 7-6 overall and 4-4 in conference play, capping the campaign with a loss to the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at the Hawaii Bowl.