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Who has the hot ticket, UCLA or USC? It’s all relative

UCLA players celebrate with fans after beating USC, 38-28, last season at the Rose Bowl. The Bruins' attendance still lags compared to the Trojans' games at the Coliseum.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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From the “It’s all relative” file ...

USC has an announced crowd of 63,482 for a football game against Utah State and people are left wondering what’s wrong.

Around UCLA, they might call it a pretty good night.

Neither the Trojans nor the Bruins played what would be called marquee opponents last week. UCLA drew an announced crowd of 59,263 for its game against New Mexico State at the Rose Bowl.

Why do the Bruins continue to lag behind the struggling Trojans?

Eliminate the quality of football. The No. 13 Bruins have a free-range offense, averaging 52.7 points a game, and one of the nation’s top quarterbacks in Brett Hundley.

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Can’t blame it on the students. UCLA didn’t start school until this week, but there was a large turnout in the student section for the New Mexico State game.

USC, meanwhile, is trying to come to terms with a UCLA-like level of empty seats in the Coliseum. The Trojans’ smallest announced crowd in 2012 was 80,154.

UCLA had a 21% increase in attendance last season -- from an average of 56,644 to 68,481 -- after four consecutive seasons where it decreased.

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