USC drew an abysmal crowd for the first college football game of the season because of heat. The Trojans defeated the Spartans of San Jose State in front of only a few thousand fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — if that.
They did not come anywhere close to a sellout as the No. 15-ranked team in the country.
Although college football fans were quick to mock the poor attendance, and understandably so, Boobie Feaster’s dad wants people to slow their roll. He is from Louisiana and lives in Texas. He knows hot. It was hot.
Absolutely nobody showed up to watch USC football.
USC began the 2026 college football season at home against San Jose State in Week 0. The crowd was nonexistent at kickoff.
It was not a late-arriving crowd either, as is often the case in Los Angeles because of traffic. Here is how it looked near the end of the first quarter:
There were a few different reasons for the lack of attendance, which was mocked by Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire and college football fans on social media.
First and foremost, it was an inferior opponent. The Trojans were four-score favorites over the Spartans. Yawn.
Secondly, the students had just finished their first week of classes and chose to party on The Row or at the 9-0 instead of at the football game. A lot of them were also at Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields festival in Irvine.
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, was the heat. The temperature at kickoff was 94º with a real feel of 104º. It only got hotter as the game went on. There is zero shade at the Coliseum so fans (who are not used to that kind of heat) were forced to bake.
In addition to the abnormally high temperatures for Los Angeles, it was also humid. Los Angelenos aren’t accustomed to humidity.
USC released a statement regarding the poor attendance and blamed the weather. However, the Trojans drew a crowd of more than 80,000 for a similarly hot kickoff against the same opponent back in 2009.
What gives?
Boobie Feaster’s father defends the lack of crowd due to heat.
There was a lot of hype surrounding freshman wide receiver Ethan ‘Boobie’ Feaster during preseason camp. The four-star pass-catcher made his debut for USC against San Jose State. He finished with only one catch for eight yards but his targets are expected to increase as he continues to get acclimated to the next level.
Feaster’s parents were in the stands for his first college football game. His father, Dr. L.A. Feaster Jr. Psy.D, completely understood why fans did not show up to bake in the hot sun. The Feaster family is from Louisiana. They live in Texas.
The heat in Los Angeles on Saturday still kicked their butts. His wife needed medical treatment!
“I see people talking . We are from The Boot & we Live in TX. but Saturday was a different type of Heat in LA. The weather man said it hadn’t been that hot since the 50’s. My wife has Blisters. She Passed out along with 15-20 other people in the medical tent.”
Fair enough. If a Louisiana who lives in the Lone Star State says it was hot, it was hot. L.A. folk aren’t used to that kind of heat. They decided to watch the game on TV from somewhere with air conditioning instead.
USC hosts Fresno State on Friday. The crowd for a night game will be telling.