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First Look: USC

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USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley gestures during the game against the Missouri State Bears at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley gestures during the game against the Missouri State Bears at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)

Here’s an early look at Purdue’s second opponent of the 2025 season, the USC Trojans:

Date/Time: Saturday, September 13, 3:30 p.m. EDT

Location: Ross-Ade Stadium

Surface: Bermuda Grass

Capacity: 61,441 (tickets)

Weather: The early forecast shows a high of 86 degrees with partly cloudy skies

2025 schedules/rosters: Purdue schedule | Purdue roster | USC schedule | USC roster

Series notes: Purdue and USC will meet for the first time as Big Ten foes on Saturday and for the fifth time overall. The two first met in the 1967 Rose Bowl, a 14-13 win in Pasadena, where Purdue stopped a late two-point conversion to hold on and win. Since then, the series belongs to Southern Cal. The Trojans swept a home-and-home series in 1975 and 1976 before downing Purdue in the 1998 season opener, a game in which Drew Brees made his first start for the Boilermakers.

TV: CBS

Early line: USC -21.5, O/U 58.5

STORYLINES TO WATCH

Stronger competition

Following decisive wins over Ball State and Southern Illinois, Purdue will face a much stronger opponent when USC comes to town on Saturday. Though the first three years of the Lincoln Riley era have delivered mixed results, he holds a 28-14 record in the City of Angels after going 55-10 in five years at Oklahoma.

Oddsmakers don’t like Purdue’s chances on Saturday, opening the Trojans as around a three-touchdown favorite. Purdue will look to snap a nine-game Big Ten losing streak. The Boilermakers last won a conference game on Thanksgiving weekend of 2023, when a fourth-quarter comeback kept the Old Oaken Bucket in West Lafayette.

The Jayden Maiava connection

One of the most respected offensive minds in the sport, Riley’s group put up eye-popping numbers in their first two games. In wins over Missouri State and Georgia Southern, USC hung 73 and 59 points, respectively. Riley developed a reputation as the best quarterback developer in America by helping Baker Mayfield, Jalen Hurts, Kyler Murray and Caleb Williams win Heisman Trophies, and he hopes to turn his new quarterback into a superstar.

His quarterback, Jayden Maiava, won Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2023 while playing for Barry Odom at UNLV. He earned second-team All-Mountain West honors after throwing for more than 3,000 yards in his freshman season, but he opted to transfer to USC. He began 2024 as a backup for the Trojans, but he performed admirably while starting the final four games, solidifying him as the starter entering this season.

Through two games, he’s completed 74% of his passes for 707 yards and six touchdowns. He’ll look to keep that rolling with an impressive group of wide receivers when the Trojans head east on Saturday.

The impact of travel?

In year two of the new-look Big Ten, the jury remains out on how much travel matters for long trips. But, USC lost all three of its trips to the standard Big Ten footprint in 2024, losing at Michigan, Minnesota and Maryland. Purdue will hope that the Trojans feel the impact of jet lag as they fly nearly 1,800 miles from Los Angeles to West Lafayette.

Odom on the Trojans

Updates will be provided following Odom’s Monday afternoon press conference

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