It began with a dull roar, rising from bleachers that long sat empty. It grew louder as Keaontay Ingram, USC’s new transfer running back, stiff-armed one defender. Then louder still, as he bypassed another would-be tackler, breaking free along the Coliseum sideline.
By the time Ingram cut back across the field, sparking one of the few big plays of Saturday’s spring game for USC, a stadium filled with a few thousand socially distanced fans had broken into its first full-throated cheer since 2019. After more than a year of empty bleachers, cardboard fans and pandemic protocols, here was the long-awaited exhale, a joyful moment of college football catharsis.