This season, the culprit was USC, as the Trojans opened their 2026 season at home against San Jose State.Because college football scheduling is no longer based on what makes sense given a location, local time zones, time of year, or weather, NBC picked the 12pm Pacific Time window for kickoff.That's always a tough time for Southern California locals, because Saturday traffic in the Los Angeles area, particularly for events around downtown LA, makes getting in and out of venues an hours-long slog.
Combine it with the $60 parking a mile away, a poor quality opponent, and one of the most brutal weather days of the year, with atrocious heat and humidity, and it's a recipe for reduced attendance.USC FOOTBALL RIPPED FOR PATHETIC CROWD AT HOME OPENER: 'ABSOLUTELY EMBARRASSING'USC Trojans wide receiver Trent Mosley catches a pass during the second quarter of an NCAA football game against the San José State Spartans at the Coliseum in Los Angeles on Aug.29, 2026.
(Louis Lopez/Cal Sport Media/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect)That's exactly what happened.And the college football world rushed to do what it does best, roast other programs.
The crowd at kickoff was extremely small, though, it did fill in a bit more by late in the first quarter.Unsurprisingly, with the game already decided in the first 15-18 minutes and the awful conditions, it quickly emptied out.Many commentators rushed to say that the low turnout is why USC will not make the College Football Playoff this year, while adding that Lincoln Riley is officially on the hot seat.
And to be fair to those uninformed opinions, there's little doubt that USC's underwhelming performances in recent years contributed to the poor showing.But one thing those commentators, and most fans, completely misunderstand, is that attendance and fan support has quite literally nothing to do with team quality.This phenomenon though, continues to have widespread support across college football.
Fans show up to watch Arkansas on seven days ...