The Odyssey headed up to LA for the OSU tilt at USC last Saturday.  As Sunday is a big day for watching VCR recordings for the Odyssey, we were distressed at what we saw:

  1. A high-flying Oregon State team was visiting the San Joaquin Valley.  Uber receiver, Jesse Legree, had recently received a lot of pub for resigning for 2027 for the Beavers (to the glee of the Odyssey).  OSU’s QB, Braden Atkinson, was not even pencilled in to be the Beavers’ starter in 2026.  Yet the Mercer transfer has been almost as incandescent as Legree.  Sadly, the attendance for the game was sparse, especially troubling since Fresno State has generally had good attendance over the last 40 years.
  2. Attendance at San Diego State was even worse for Washington State’s visit to San Diego.  A telltale sign of woeful attendance:  When the camera’s are “so tight” to the field of play that the crowd (or lack thereof, in this case) cannot be seen.  SDSU’s fall is sad.  The Aztecs were close to getting into the “old” Pac-12 before Tony Petitti and the Big 10 broke up the Pac 12 by luring USC and UCLA into the fold. Snapdragon Stadium is one of the very most beautiful venues in college football.  Yet, SDSU lacks both the “bombs away” teams of the Don Coryell era or the consistent defensive powerhouses under Rocky Long.  We also wonder about the Aztecs’ NIL budget.  Trey White, star defensive end and local Eastlake High School  product, transferred to Cody Carlson U (also known as Texas Tech).  OUCH

Excuses galore exist.  On Halloween night, maybe potential fans preferred to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters.  The rain forecast might have deterred some.  Sitting on the couch and watching USC take on the Buckeyes might have been attractive to others.

The bottom line is that two games in California were massive disapointments in terms of the crowd.  The Odyssey will keep monitoring, but with a degree of alarm.