When USC football Head Coach Lincoln Riley was asked about the Trojans’ upcoming “Big Noon Saturday” matchup against the Colorado Buffaloes, he said the team was feeling “pretty rested.” But with a 9 a.m. kickoff, USC’s student body might disagree.
Why such an early time slot? USC is slated to play on FOX’s “Big Noon Kickoff,” one of college football’s biggest primetime shows. It is a nationally-televised game, equating to higher viewership and increased exposure. Not only does that help recruiting, but also provides a spotlight for players to showcase their talents to college football fans across the country, especially fans on the East Coast who can rarely catch the Trojans on television.
But for West Coast fans, especially USC students, it means breakfast is served with a side of football.
With many Trojan fans passionate about their school spirit, factors including game time and proximity may influence USC football supporters’ willingness to tune in and cheer on the Trojans in their highly touted battle against the Buffaloes.
Cutler Low, a junior studying acting, will be in Boulder during Saturday’s game, and plans to attend in-person if ticket prices drop. While he hopes his fellow students will watch the game, either from home or in the stands at Folsom Field, he acknowledged that the 9 a.m. game time may decrease willingness to watch among the student body.
“I don’t necessarily believe that there will be a lot of viewers of this game because it is so early,” Low said. “I feel as if a lot of the kids that go to this school aren’t the biggest supporters of the away games.”
Without tailgates around the Coliseum and scattered across popular campus locations, like McCarthy Quad, the game day experience— which begins well before kickoff for many students and supporters— can seem less accessible or intriguing.
“They’re not going to be throwing it up on the TV and watching it there, they’re more about the stadium energy,” Low said.
Add a 9 a.m. start time to the mix, and some USC football fans may not tune in until after halftime.
“It would be crazy to tailgate at like 8 a.m.,” said Federico Becerra, a freshman studying computer engineering & computer science. “I don’t think I’m gonna wake up, but if I do, I’ll probably watch the second half.”
While they may not tune in to games that don’t align with their sleep schedules, many students pay attention to Trojan football – especially following last season’s successes, which led to the team’s biggest one-season victory turnaround, and a new Heisman Trophy in Heritage Hall.
With pre-kickoff festivities less prevalent and the stadium much further than a 10 minute walk from campus, senior public relations major Izzy Pampalone does not plan on watching the Trojans on Saturday, but remains optimistic for another victory to add to the team’s 4-0 winning streak.
“I honestly haven’t really given much thought to it, so I probably won’t be watching it,” Pampalone said. “But it’ll be a good day, and hopefully we win, which I’m confident we will.”
Anna Parish, a senior studying public relations, will make the trip to attend the game against the 3-1 Buffaloes in Boulder this weekend in support of the Trojans. While Boulder may be far from their home turf, Parish believes that USC Football has a better overall fanbase than the Buffaloes.
“I love everyone at Boulder, but I feel like they all just like to tailgate and then crash, which we do too sometimes,” Parish said. “I’m not going to say we don’t, but I feel like the Alumni Association is stronger here, so it makes everyone more happy.”
While some supporters may not make it to kickoff, Parish will be far from the sole fan at Saturday morning’s game. CU Boulder experienced a surge in ticket sales, with over 53,000 in attendance at the rivalry game between Colorado State and CU Boulder on Sept. 16, exceeding Folsom Field’s 50,183-fan capacity.
However, the uptick in audience members is not unique to the Buffaloes, as a similar upward attendance trend occurred when Lincoln Riley and Caleb Williams transferred to USC. According to Pac-12 statistics, the 2022-2023 season home attendance average was 64,488, compared to 56,216 during the 2021-2022 season, before Riley and Williams and during the second peak year of the pandemic. During the 2019-2020 season, the last before the COVID-19 outbreak, the home average was 59,359 attendees.
Based on the team’s performance both this season and last, Parish is confident in another win as she prepares to head to Boulder.
“I feel like we’re gonna win,” she said. “I just think that they have hype right now. We don’t know how long it’s gonna last, [but] we did really well last year. So I think we’ll do really well again.”
Toby Fenner, a junior computer science and business administration major, ends up watching almost every away game on TV.
“Usually my friends will put it on and I’ll get sucked into it,” Fenner said. “I definitely don’t pay to watch them, but I’ll go to a streaming service.”
With many college students unable to access cable networks that stream the full games, Fenner and his friends will watch the highlights on YouTube “at the very least,” he said. This is his plan for Saturday’s matchup if he chooses to sleep over supporting the Trojans live.
“I’m definitely still going to be involved, but I don’t know about [watching] live, because 9 a.m. is a bit much for me.”