On Saturday afternoon, as USC football kicked off its Week 0 season opener against San Jose State University, the stands of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum were flooded with cardinal red.

Not from the jerseys of avid fans, though — from the backs of empty seats.

As a record heat wave scorched the streets of L.A., the Coliseum crowd was noticeably sparse Saturday. Tens of thousands of fans opted for the comfort of their air-conditioned homes over a noon kickoff in the sun against a Group of Six opponent. The game’s announced attendance was 51,144 — less than two-thirds of the Coliseum’s capacity — marking the lowest count for a USC home game since a 2018 matchup with Arizona State drew just 47,406.

Images of the stadium quickly spread across social media, with hundreds of posts criticizing Trojan fans for failing to show up. On the list of critics was Texas Tech Head Coach Joey McGuire, who seemed to take a subtle jab at USC on Monday, praising his fanbase for showing up “no matter what the weather’s like.”

After Saturday’s game, Head Coach Lincoln Riley didn’t comment on the poor attendance, only briefly mentioning the hot weather. On Tuesday, however, he made it clear he wasn’t concerned with the social media buzz.

“I don’t buy into the false narrative,” Riley said in a post-practice news conference Tuesday. “That comes from a lot of people that don’t follow our program and most of those who have never stepped foot in the Coliseum.”

Riley has repeatedly stressed the importance of fan attendance at the Coliseum since starting his tenure as head coach in 2022, calling it a “major factor” in USC’s 29-10 win over UCLA last season. The team’s average attendance increased in each of Riley’s first three seasons at the helm, though it slightly dipped last year after a disappointing 2024 campaign.

“This is USC, right? People are going to pay attention,” Riley said. “People are going to have an opinion. It’s part of being a blue blood school.”

Redshirt junior left tackle Elijah Paige also defended the Trojan fanbase Tuesday, though he said it was still “very important” to have them present at the Coliseum.

“We love our fans,” Paige said in a post-practice news conference Tuesday. “Whoever we can get out to the game, we’re very grateful for them getting a ticket and coming in the heat and watching us play.”

USC is set to return to the Coliseum on Friday to host Fresno State University. With a 6 p.m. kickoff and a forecasted temperature 20 degrees cooler than Saturday, Riley and company can look forward to much more favorable weather — and hopefully, far fewer empty seats.

“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,” Riley said. “I expect that to happen again this year.”