RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from CBS Sports — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 2 sources
When will USC fans care as much about winning as Lincoln Riley?
That question was unavoidable Saturday as kickoff photos from the Trojans' 42-26 win over San Jose State showed thousands of empty seats inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This is a preseason top-15 team with a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback, several five-star freshmen making their debuts and legitimate College Football Playoff expectations.
The announced attendance was 51,144, but the optics suggested considerably fewer. Vast sections of the Coliseum looked abandoned, a jarring sight for a blue-blood program equipped with the resources, talent and tradition to compete for championships.
Forget Oregon , Ohio State , Indiana and the rest of USC's daunting schedule for a moment. Riley's most troubling opponent this season might be apathy.
The noon kickoff came during a Los Angeles heatwave, with temperatures reaching the mid-90s and the heat index exceeding 100. Many fans on social media cited the conditions as their reason for staying home.
Fair enough. Nobody enjoys baking inside a concrete stadium to watch a four-touchdown favorite.
In Norman, Oklahoma , where the Sooners were the lone featured attraction, Riley never had to endure any of this.
The Coliseum at kickoff of USC’s season opener with San Jose State pic.twitter.com/4bOhMY487b
Los Angeles is an event town, not a market automatically devoted to college football every Saturday. The Dodgers own the summer and early fall. The Lakers consume oxygen year-round.
Those franchises satisfy Hollywood's appetite for spectacle. USC and UCLA are often left fighting for whatever attention remains, especially when neither program is nationally relevant.
But USC is. Riley is making $12.5 million, the Trojans just opened its $200 million football facility and they landed their first No. 1 signing class this cycle in more than two decades.
If the fans don't care now, will it happen?
This is where Riley, who has mentioned how much he has "sacrificed" to be coaching the Trojans , must change the equation. Recruiting rankings, preseason hype and quarterback accolades are not enough anymore.
USC fans have heard the sales pitch. They watched Caleb Williams win the Heisman and still saw the program miss the College Football Playoff. They watched defensive collapses, uneven Big Ten results and rivalry frustration erode the excitement surrounding Riley's arrival.
The only dependable cure is winning games that matter.
Handle the Big Ten's heavyweights. Reach November with legitimate playoff aspirations. Give the city a reason to believe the Coliseum is hosting something more important than another television production, with nearly every premiere seat available at kickoff.
Riley does not need to compete with the Lakers and Dodgers every day. He needs to make USC football feel exclusive again -- a cultural event and a destination worth navigating traffic and heat to experience.
Saturday's empty seats were embarrassing, but also instructive. The roster has been upgraded. Jayden Maiava has star power. USC's recruiting momentum is real.
Now Riley must turn potential into results. In Los Angeles, attention is earned, not inherited. USC will fill the Coliseum again, but if it doesn't happen against Oregon on Sept. 26, when both teams are unbeaten and near the top of the Big Ten, something's broken.
Next weekend, take a look at the crowds for the cupcake home openers at Ohio State, Georgia , Texas and others. You're not going to see another contender's fanbase as uninterested as those who follow the Trojans.
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.