College Football HQ

Pitiful college football spring game crowd goes viral

College football spring games don't usually pack the stadium even at the top programs, but this turnout was just plain embarrassing
James Parks|
Pitiful college football spring game crowd goes viral
Pitiful college football spring game crowd goes viral

Not even the biggest college football programs usually fill their stadium for spring games, but the scene at Washington over the weekend was just plain pathetic.

Husky Stadium was seen virtually empty during the team's Saturday scrimmage, which was somewhat surprising given how well the school fared on the football field a year ago and what is expected from the team this coming season.

"There's no sugarcoating that the attendance for the UW Football spring preview is light, from the stands to the press box," said an editor of the student newspaper.

He added, "It's also not a big deal. Spring game hasn't been a spectacle for years for the Huskies, and they're essentially playing a simulated scrimmage."

Granted there are plenty of things to do on the weekend in a big city like Seattle, but you'd still like to see a little more support for the Huskies after the year they had.

After winning just four games at the end of the disastrous Jimmy Lake experiment, the school brought on Kalen DeBoer as head coach and added transfer quarterback Michael Penix, with the results proving spectacular.

Penix led college football in total passing production, posted the No. 7 scoring offense, and finished with the No. 2 total offense in the country, averaging almost 516 total yards per game, going 11-2 overall, and defeating four ranked teams, including Texas in the Alamo Bowl game.

Last season was the fifth time in Washington football history that the school won 11 or more games in a single year and those 11 victories were the most since the program qualified for the College Football Playoff in 2016.

And if last season is any judge, the spring game attendance doesn't predict regular season interest, as Washington was second in the Pac-12 with over 62,000 tickets sold for home games last season.

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James Parks
JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He has covered football for a decade, previously managing several team sites and publishing national content for 247Sports.com for five years. His work has also been published on CBSSports.com. He founded College Football HQ in 2020, and the site joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022 and the On SI network in 2024.

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