2. USC would have sold out the coliseum regardless of Michigan's brand
There was some chatter by both coaches about the crowd size leading up to Saturday night. Coach Moore said the only reason the showdown would sell out is because Michigan was coming to town. Coach Riley took offense to that in the postgame interview with a jab at Moore's comments. For instance USC sold out the Penn State and Notre Dame matchups in 2024, which makes this sentiment an overreaction.
Factually speaking west coast fans are not as invested in football as traditional Big Ten diehards are. In last year's victory over USC, Trojan patrons were outnumbered by the stripe out. Saturday's crowd was probably somewhere hovering around the 65/35 range in favor of the home squad.
Brand names like Michigan always bring in fans from the furthest depths of the city. The official attendance number was greater than 75,000 visitors, compared to the 67,000 or so that watched the Trojans outlast Michigan State a few weeks ago. It proves that people will show up when the name on the jersey is known by locals far and wide.