UCLA is unbeaten. So why is the Rose Bowl full of empty seats?
Halloween was frightening for college football attendance. As reported by USA TODAY , images from Oct. 31 games circulated across social media featuring stadiums filled with sparse crowds. Historic venues for schools from Penn State to Florida State to Oklahoma sat relatively empty. The numbers back that up. A USA TODAY Sports analysis found that in Week 9, when most games fell on Oct. 31, NCAA Division I FBS home crowds were 8.8% smaller than those same home teams’ 2025 average, by far the worst week of the season. One such school facing the bleak returns at the gate has been undefeated No. 5 UCLA. Against Nevada last Saturday, the school posted its lowest season attendance of the season – filling just 24,611 of the 81,258 Rose Bowl seats . The Bruins ’ crosstown rival No. 17 USC had a much better Halloween night, announcing a sellout crowd against then-No. 2 Ohio State. However, those 70,000-plus fans were a bright spot for a school whose attendance is otherwise trending down this season. The Los Angeles-area schools have also been on a downward trend in attendance for much of the past decade, although it’s worth noting that the Trojans ’ LA
