Add The California Post on Google Eyeballing the small crowds at USC’s first two home football games led to all sorts of guesses about how many fans were actually there.
Most people realized that the announced crowds inside the 71,349-seat stadium weren’t an actual count of attendance, providing no definitive answers.
The school announced a crowd of 51,144 for the season opener against San Jose State – the smallest crowd of the Lincoln Riley era – followed by 53,014 for the game against Fresno State on Friday evening.
The crowd that showed up to see USC play Fresno State on Friday at the Coliseum was significantly bigger than the one that showed up in a heatwave to watch the Trojans’ season opener. Ben Bolch/California Post The actual counts were significantly smaller, according to information obtained by the California Post.
Only 35,585 people scanned through the gates for the San Jose State game, based on a tabulation kept by the Los Angeles Fire Department. That’s 15,559 fewer fans than what USC announced as “tickets out,” which is a count of tickets sold but does not include others on site such as stadium staff, band members and credentialed media.
The scan count rose to 45,833 for the Fresno State game – an increase of 10,248 from the opener and only 7,181 fewer than the announced figure. Pleasant temperatures in the 70s certainly helped Friday after fans at the opener baked in a game-time temperature of 94 degrees, with the heat index soaring considerably higher.
A USC football spokesperson declined to comment on the attendance figures.
The relatively tiny crowds focused as much attention on the stands as the field.
The Trojans faced ridicule on social media as well as from a handful of college football coaches who questioned their fans’ commitment.
Lincoln Riley of the USC Trojans looks on during the fourth quarter against the Fresno State Bulldogs at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, on Sept. 4, 2026. Getty Images “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, in front of 60,000,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said last week. “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’ve got some really tough people in west Texas that love their football. They’re gonna show up no matter what the weather’s like. There’s not going to be any excuses of why they’re not here for us.”
Riley called the criticism a “false narrative” about a program with robust attendance.
“I think that comes from a lot of people who don’t follow our program, most of those who have never stepped foot in the Coliseum,” Riley said. “The reality is, during my years here, attendance has gone up every single year. As has our play in the Coliseum, including running the table last year in front of a lot of epic atmospheres. And I expect that to happen again this year.”
Average attendance for USC home games actually dipped from 71,571 during the 2024 season to 67,783 in 2025.
Another relatively small crowd will likely watch the Trojans (2-0) play Louisiana next weekend – especially given an 8 p.m. kickoff – before bigger crowds descend on the Coliseum for Big Ten play. Home games against Oregon, Washington and Ohio State should be significantly bigger draws – both in terms of what’s announced and actual fans inside the stadium.
