Lincoln Riley joins coaches facing major pressure in 2026
Mike Norvell, Luke Fickell and Lincoln Riley lead the list of coaches facing pressure entering the 2026 college football season.
Southern California has responded to the backlash to the low attendance from the season-opening win over San Jose State in Week 0, stating it understood what led to the low turnout.
The No. 14 Trojans’ 42-26 win over the Spartans on Saturday, Aug. 29 was overshadowed by the sparse crowd inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with plenty of empty sections when the game kicked off and throughout the contest.
The announced attendance for the game was 51,144, its lowest figure under Lincoln Riley and lowest since 2018. In reality, the number of people actually at the game was much less.
“We understand the factors that impacted Saturday’s attendance,” USC said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. “We have high expectations and a premier home schedule this season, and we know the competitive advantage an electric Coliseum atmosphere can provide our program. We thank our fans who showed up Saturday and look forward to seeing increased attendance the rest of the season.”
Why was USC’s crowd so low?
There were several factors at play as to why USC didn’t have a packed stadium, with the obvious one being the weather. The game took place in what has been a brutal stretch of temperatures in southern California, with much higher than usual humidity levels worsening the effects outside. The U.S. National Weather Service issued an extreme heat advisory in the Los Angeles region on the day.
It didn’t help the game also kicked off at noon local time, with the temperature at 94 degrees, with a real feel temperature of 104 degrees, according to AccuWeather, when the game started. Mix that and the limited shade inside the stadium, and it made for a rough day at the game for fans.
Still, plenty of people on social media criticized USC and its fans for not showing up to the season opener, pointing out it shows people don’t care about the team and it’s not worth being in the hot weather to watch it.
USC is coming off a season where it was one of the best attended teams in the country. In 2025, the Trojans averaged 67,783, in the top 25 of FBS. It does have games where it is expected to draw big crowds at home, with No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Oregon and No. 19 Washington at home.