Riley rejects critique of USC crowd: False narrative

• 

  Paolo UggettiSep 1, 2026, 10:29 PM ET

USC head coach Lincoln Riley said Tuesday he believes the criticism surrounding the Trojans' sparse home attendance at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum this past weekend is a "false narrative."

"This is USC. People are going to have an opinion," Riley said. "I don't buy into the false narrative. I think that comes from a lot of people that don't follow our program, and most of those have never stepped foot in the Coliseum."

The 14th-ranked Trojans opened their highly anticipated fifth season under coach Lincoln Riley with only 51,144 fans -- which appeared to be a generous estimate -- in reported attendance Saturday against San Jose State. The game kicked off at noon local time and the temperature reached 96 degrees at one point, with a heat index over 100 degrees. USC won 42-26.

"We understand the factors that impacted Saturday's attendance," the school said Monday in a statement. "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."

The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for Los Angeles County through 8 p.m. Saturday. Many fans who did attend left their seats at various points during the game and watched from the few shaded areas around the Coliseum. The father of USC freshman wide receiver Boobie Feaster said in a post on X that his wife passed out from the heat Saturday, "along with 15-20 other people in the medical tent."

The topic of USC's fan attendance Saturday has been a point of discussion among other coaches across the country as well.

"Not to take any shots, because I have a lot of respect for USC and Lincoln Riley, but it's really awesome to be playing in Lubbock, Texas, knowing we're going to be playing in front of 60,000," Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire said. "It's going to be warm. It's going to be every bit as warm as it was Saturday ... 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."

On Tuesday, first-year Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi also shared his thoughts.

"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," Lupoi told reporters. "I can guarantee you that's a completely different environment here."

Last year, USC opened the season at home against Missouri State and drew 62,841 for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff. The Trojans went undefeated at the Coliseum (capacity: 77,500) winning all seven games on their way to a 9-3 record last season.

"The reality is, during my years here, attendance has gone up every single year," Riley said. "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."