Week 2 marked the first home game of the season for the UCLA Bruins, and while it wasn’t a sellout at the Rose Bowl, 31,976 fans were in attendance to watch UCLA move to 2-0 with a 28-10 win over San Diego State.
The Bruins had just one home game in 2025 with a lesser attendance, UCLA’s embarrassing loss to New Mexico was in front of just 31,163 attendees, but perhaps it’s due in part to a change in how the program calculates attendance.
The Los Angeles Times reported last year that UCLA football was previously counting coaches, players and vendors in the attendance tally, which helps inflate the total number. The hiring of Bob Chesney and the excitement for the future of the program was supposed to create a more lively home crowd for the Bruins,
and it’s still possible, but it didn’t come to fruition in the home opener.
Another obstacle for UCLA’s Week 2 attendance was the fact that school is not yet back in session, meaning that students aren’t all back in Los Angeles, giving UCLA fewer fans in the area to pack out the Rose Bowl. New Bruin running back Wayne Knight isn’t worried about the home crowd though, anticipating that the attendance number will increase as the season continues.
“Good to play in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena,” Knight said. “Seeing those guys coming out there, supporting us, it’s important. It’s going to continue to grow. It’s only Week 2 right now and by the end of the year, we’re going to have that thing packed out.”
“By the end of the year we’re gonna have that thing packed out.” 👀🐻
— 🌹 2-0 (@chesneyera) September 13, 2026
- Wayne Knight on the Rose Bowl #UCLA pic.twitter.com/oBxXJhJswu
We’ll see if Knight’s prediction comes true. Even without a gaudy home crowd, Knight has put on a show. The James Madison transfer has as many rushing touchdowns through two games (six) as UCLA had as a team in all of last season.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: We’re going to have that thing packed out' UCLA RB on the Rose Bowl '
