10 Observations USC-Purdue

Here is what has us talking after Purdue’s 33-17 loss to USC on Saturday in Ross-Ade Stadium.

1 – We knew turnovers would be a key factor. The Boilermakers had three–two in the red zone. Purdue committed a brutal one on it second drive of the game, when Ryan Browne threw an INT into the end zone on a hurried, ill-advised throw that cost Purdue at least three points in a 3-0 game. It was demoralizing.

Browne’s second INT was even worse. More on that later. His final INT essential ended Purdue’s hopes, a red zone pick with Purdue driving while it trailed 30-17.

“Turnovers, especially when you’re down in the tight red zone, and you come up with zero points … ” said Odom. “We probably left 14 points out there, seven or 10 or whatever it is. So, that’s tough. The margin of error is so thin once you get down in the red zone. Once we get down in the red zone, we have to come away with points.”

2 – Big plays. Purdue needed them … and it needed to prevent them. Didn’t happen. Heck, USC had five passes of over 20 yards in the first quarter. The Trojans finished with seven runs over 10 yards and seven passes over 15.

The killer blow (and an embarrassing one, at that) was when 360-pound USC DT Jamaal Jarrett rumbled, stumbled and bumbled 70 yards to paydirt with an interception in the third quarter to give the Trojans a 30-10 lead.

3 – Barry Odom’s squad needed multiple takeaways to win. Didn’t happen. Purdue entered the game with no takeaways in 2025. And it left the game with no takeaways in 2025. This, a year after having just five takeaways in 2024.

4 – Purdue showed fight. Give it that. When USC took a 30-10 lead in the third quarter, it would have been easy to fold the tent. But the Boilers answered with a TD drive to make it 30-17. There are things to build on.

“I thought that our guys hung in there,” said Odom. “We just couldn’t capture the momentum. We just couldn’t keep it on our side. So, we gotta work to find ways to get that done.”

5 – Ryan Browne needed to have a big game for Purdue to shock USC as a 21-point underdog. He had good numbers: 305 yards passing, 63 percent completion, often working under duress. But his three INTs were the undoing. Meanwhile, USC QB Jayden Maiava was on point, throwing for 282 yards (17 of 28 passing) and running for a TD.

“The quarterback always gets too much praise and too much criticism,” said Odom. “I think he’s a tremendous talent, and I think he made some throws tonight that were big-time throws.

“We look at it and we learn from it. He’s harder on himself than anybody possibly could be. So, we’ll build him up. … “

6 – Let’s talk about the o-line a bit. It struggled too often to protect Browne. And pass pro by the RBs was spotty, too. Too often, Browne was swallowed up before setting up. He was sacked five times. But he also needs to make quicker decisions, too. USC also had 10 TFLs, often getting a push to halt plays.

7 – The run game? Not much pop. Devin Mockobee had a few moments, as Purdue finished with just 60 yards on the ground; Mockobee had 45. It didn’t help that Purdue was playing from behind all night. The Boilermakers needed more from its ground game to extend drives and keep the ball away from a potent USC attack. Didn’t happen.

“I thought there were times that we were good at the point of attack,” said Odom. “And then I thought there were times that they suffocated the ball and kind of took the air out of it.”

8 – New wrinkles? The biggest: A whack-a-doodle two backward passes play in the third quarter that could have resulted in disaster turned into a TD when Browne picked up a loose ball and raced 34 yards to pay dirt in the third quarter to cut USC’s lead to 20-10.

“We’re in a really thick playbook of what we can do on both sides of the ball,” said Odom. “We’ve got a lot in and we still got a lot yet that we can come to because I think you’ve got to be adaptable. You’ve got to be able to adjust from week to week to try to get the matchups the way you want. I thought schematically, I thought plan-wise, we had a good plan going into the game.”

9 – What impact did a 3:05 delay have on Purdue?

“Whether it’s 30 minutes or three hours, or whatever it is, we kind of got different plans,” said Odom. “And I thought the people that executed that plan today, from nutrition, sports medicine to strength and conditioning, game day management on communication piece, I thought it was flawless.”

10 – Things won’t get any easier for Purdue next week when it treks to Notre Dame.

“There are things that I feel like we’re getting close to be a pretty darn good football team, and we got to continue to work,” said Odom. “I did tell the guys that this loss will not define us, but how we respond will. So, we got to learn from the things we did well, things that we have to get fixed for us to play winning football and then find a way to get back in the winner’s circle.”

https://www.youtube.com/live/Pl7dRb-7S-U?si=xUsBjb8IuBjCSdf7 The staff of GoldandBlack.com