USC had every reason to feel good after a standout win (39-0) over the Fresno State Bulldogs on September 5. But head coach Lincoln Riley wasn’t ready to celebrate just yet. Behind the big score, two major issues bothered him: sloppy mistakes on the field and thousands of empty red seats in the Los Angeles Coliseum. A win looks good on paper, but Riley knows these hidden problems can ruin their Big Ten dream season real fast.
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Speaking to reporters in his post-game media conference, Riley broke down how his offense moved from Week 0 to Week 1. He gave credit to the pass protection but quickly turned his focus to the mistakes that ruined clean drives.
“We had some opportunities where we protected good, were able to do it. Our drives were pretty complete most of the game,” Riley said during the presser. “We had a couple of things that we didn’t like, where we messed up a few things. Had a couple of bad calls. And then obviously, the turnovers.”
“We have two fumbles, and we don’t convert a third and a fourth, and one in the red zone. I mean, that was we played pretty good other than that, but you can’t have that, right? That’s just not good enough. So, we got to be better there.”
Despite controlling the game from start to finish, Riley wasn’t happy with USC’s execution, especially in the red zone. USC moved the ball well and created big plays, but two fumbles and a few poor decisions at critical moments ended drives for the Trojans. That made them miss opportunities in a game they otherwise dominated.
The red zone numbers back up Riley’s frustration. USC failed to convert a third-and-short and a fourth-and-short in scoring territory, which could have hurt the program badly if they were to compete against tougher Big Ten opponents. Quarterback Jayden Maiava was efficient in completing 23 of 25 passes for 349 yards and three touchdowns, but the fumbles and stalled red-zone drives kept the win against Fresno State less satisfactory.
But sloppy execution was only half the problem on Friday night. The other issue was sitting right in front of everyone: thousands of empty seats. For a program ranked 14th in the country and charging toward major conference battles, seeing big blank spaces in your own home stadium is a tough pill to swallow. It raises uncomfortable questions about fan excitement under Riley.
After the Week 1 victory, Riley fielded questions about USC’s attendance, which fell short of the Coliseum’s expected capacity of 77,500. The Trojans had 51,144 fans in attendance for the Week 0 matchup against San Jose State and 53,014, a slight increase, for the Fresno State game. Lincoln Riley stood firm on his claim about a “false narrative” being created against his program. He pointed to the weather conditions and holiday traffic as factors for the sparse crowds at USC games.
USC’s season opener was played at noon during an extreme heat advisory, with temperatures reaching 94 degrees and a heat index over 100. The Friday night game against Fresno State faced another challenge: Labor Day weekend traffic and a Dodgers game competing for Los Angeles fans’ attention.
The Trojans host Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns next at the Coliseum on September 13, which could prove to be another chance for Riley’s team to clean up the mistakes he has flagged during the Week 1 game and for the loyal fans to show up at the Coliseum.