My thoughts on my first USC game

I have not covered USC recruiting for long, just a few months to this point, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it already! And my experience of covering USC and it’s recruiting got a boost this weekend as I took in my first USC game in the Coliseum. I really got to take it in as I was on the field for the game.

This was also my first time being in Los Angeles altogether, so the entire trip was new for me. Growing up in New Orleans, I grew up in a diehard LSU family and was able to experience Death Valley on a Saturday night many, many times. Then in college, I went to Oklahoma State, one of the more unique stadiums in college football. And one that I believe is a underrated atmosphere in the sport. I have also been to many southern college football stadiums in the past few years for games including Texas, Baylor, TCU, Texas A&M, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and a few others.

So, I was very intrigued to experience the Coliseum for a game, especially with Caleb Williams at the helm and the excitement of year two with Lincoln Riley.

My takeaways

I will say first and foremost, I thought it was awesome. I have never been in a stadium like the Coliseum, at least from a style standpoint. The peristyle aspect of the stadium is so unique and synonymous to USC football, seeing it in person was certainly something special. I am a big fan of the way the stadium is shaped and the bowl structure, I thought it made for a good atmosphere. I know USC and west coast football gets griped on for lack of attendance, but I was impressed with the 63,000 turnout for this game. Was it the loudest stadium I’ve been in? No, but I thought the atmosphere of the game was a fun one. I thoroughly enjoyed the traditions as well with the band, the Trojan Traveler, and especially the lighting of the torch in the 4th quarter. I had no idea that was a thing that happened, so that was pretty cool to see.

Seeing those traditional Trojan helmets and uniforms up close was awesome. There are some uniforms in college football that are such classics and so known for that specific look and USC is certainly one of those. I have always seen it on TV and in videos, but seeing it up close, I can appreciate it even more, especially the helmets (I need one of those for my shelves).

I got to walk through campus for a bit before the game and boy, I was impressed. I didn’t think it would feel like a true campus since it is in the city. I say that because at Oklahoma State and many other southern campuses, the university is the main focal point of a fairly small town. But, walking through, I thought it was beautiful and it definitely felt like a real campus. I only saw one part of it and definitely want to see more in the future, but what I saw was cool.

There is a chance this will be the only game I will see in person this year, so I have to say, I am happy I got to see Caleb toss four touchdowns. Also, this was the second time I’ve seen him play in person, the first time being the final game of his and Lincoln Riley’s time as Sooners, which was a crazy game. Seeing Caleb play again before he left for the NFL was a goal of mine and to get that notched off in game No. 1 was cool for me personally.

There was really no bad experience of the game from my vantage point. I thought the experience was awesome and I’m sure being on the field added to that. I definitely want to come back for more games in the future. This is said quite a bit already but the Coliseum is one of those places every football fan to experience at least once.