Joey Maguire used USC's sparse home-opener crowd as a foil Monday, saying Texas Tech will play before 60,000 fans in Lubbock despite similarly warm conditions.
Saturday's USC-San Jose State game kicked off at noon with temperatures in the mid-90s, heavy humidity and a 38-point mismatch, conditions that discouraged fans from attending or arriving on time.
USC also faces Los Angeles-specific hurdles — brutal traffic, limited parking, long security lines and competition from other pro and college events — that Texas Tech does not.
Ticket pricing may be another drag: lower-level seats for USC's Oregon game were listed at $425-$475, while Texas Tech still has thousands of seats available for later home games despite the week-one sellout.
The flare-up has turned USC's attendance into an early college-football talking point, with the debate widening from fan commitment to scheduling, weather and market realities.