LOOK: USC homecoming kicks off with poor attendance

It’s still early, so maybe USC fans are planning on arriving sometime after kickoff against the 0-7 Arizona Wildcats.

But early on at L.A. Memorial Coliseum, the USC Trojans — hosting Arizona for its homecoming game — couldn’t have looked less like a homecoming game. The Trojans took the field in front of a near-empty coliseum, without a single section remotely close to full.

Looks like USC fans missed the whole “coming home” part of homecoming pic.twitter.com/Bj0cQqkV66

— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) October 30, 2021

The last time Arizona won a college football game was more than two years ago, in early October of 2019, so perhaps Trojans fans just weren’t interested in USC’s choice to make it homecoming week. But regardless, the coliseum was nearly empty at the time of kickoff, and it could very well have been a result of USC’s play as of late.

The USC Trojans fired head coach Clay Helton after a Week 2 loss to Stanford, and ever since, the Trojans have had an extremely shaky 2021 season. The once-mighty Pac-12 team is just 3-4 overall, with losses to Stanford, Oregon State, Utah and Notre Dame; the Trojans could still make a bowl game this season, especially with Arizona, Arizona State, Cal and UCLA in the coming weeks, but perhaps USC fans want to see more than a lowly bowl game to be convinced to attend the homecoming game.

Brady Quinn comes to defense of Mike Tomlin after USC rumors

After Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin vehemently denied rumors linking him to job openings at USC and LSU, former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn backed him up. Quinn said in an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show that the idea that Tomlin would leave the NFL is preposterous.

“He’s been one of the more successful, underrated head coaches in the NFL over what, the past 14 years he’s been there now,” Quinn said. “He hasn’t had a losing season. He’s won a Super Bowl. It’s ridiculous when you think about it. It’s even more ridiculous when you think about him leaving the NFL level to go to Southern Cal, which honestly needs a complete rebuild, and you got to recruit, which is a completely separate job as it is. And he’s got one of the better jobs in professional sports, definitely in the NFL with as patient as that organization has been and with as consistent as they’ve been.

“They’ve had three head coaches in 50 years. Why would he leave that? I think there is a lot of things other than his success that he has been able to accomplish there.”

Tomlin has been the coach of the Steelers for the past 15 seasons. In that span, he has compiled a 148-81 overall record. He has them at 3-3 this season with a matchup against the Cleveland Browns upcoming on Sunday.

In his Tuesday press conference, the Steelers coach addressed the rumors and speculation that he could possibly leave his NFL career to take the USC job.

“I don’t have time for that speculation,” Tomlin said emphatically. That’s a joke to me. I’ve got of one of the best jobs in all of professional sports. Why would I have any interest in coaching college football?”

The Trojans fired coach Clay Helton following just the second game of the season, a loss to Stanford. USC currently sits at 3-4 with just five games left to become bowl eligible.

As fun as it might have been to fantasize for Trojans fans, the reality is they likely won’t find such a high-profile name. Brady Quinn was spot on about the rumors, and Mike Tomlin added this gem for further assurance.

“Never say never, he said. “But never. There’s not a booster with a big enough blank check.”