Football weathers storm delay for 33-17 win at Purdue
USC got its first road Big Ten win outside of Los Angeles to make it onto AP’s Top 25.
By BENNETT CHRISTOFFERSON
After starting the season with two relatively easy opponents in Missouri State University and Georgia Southern University, No. 25 USC football faced its first real threat Saturday: the weather.
A severe thunderstorm warning in West Lafayette caused kickoff to be delayed by more than three hours — hardly a warm welcome for the Trojans’ first road game of the season. By the time the teams took the field, the sun was beginning to set on Ross-Ade Stadium for a game initially scheduled at 3:30 p.m.
Thanks to the conditions, USC’s (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) matchup with Purdue (2-1, 0-1) was shaping up to be another harsh welcome to Big Ten play after the Trojans blew fourth-quarter leads in all four conference road games outside of Los Angeles last season.
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But, while not as dominant as its previous two wins, USC overcame the delay and had little trouble handling the more-formidable Boilermakers, cruising to a 33-17 win — football’s first Big Ten road win outside of a 19-13 victory over crosstown rival UCLA at the Rose Bowl.
“I give our team a lot of credit, they handled [the delay] well,” Head Coach Lincoln Riley said in a postgame news conference. “It was like, ‘We don’t even care what time the game starts; just let us know and we’re going to be ready to go.’”
The win was also the Trojans’ first in the Eastern time zone since 2012, snapping a nine-game losing streak to start conference play off right and propelling them into the Associated Press’ Top 25 poll after two routs to start the season weren’t enough for voters.
“Road games in a conference like this are tough, they always are,” Riley said. “It’s cool to walk in here and get our first conference win, our first road win, and [we’re] looking forward to what’s ahead.”
Maiava keeps up hot start against former coach
The matchup was of particular significance for redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava, who played under Purdue Head Coach Barry Odom for one year at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas before transferring to USC.
Maiava continued his strong start to the season, throwing for 282 yards on 17-of-28 passing and rushing for a score in the second quarter, though he failed to record a passing touchdown for the first time since taking over as USC’s starting quarterback. Maiava seemed to thrive in the game’s highest-pressure situations, helping the Trojans convert a perfect 4-for-4 on fourth down, their most in a single game since 2020.
“No matter what you throw at him, he’s a real cool guy, remains calm under pressure, and it was the same thing with him today,” redshirt senior tight end Lake McRee said in a postgame news conference. “Week in, week out, you see his confidence growing, and [he’s] really become one of the big leaders on our team.”
Junior wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane continued to be one of Maiava’s favorite targets, leading USC with 115 yards on three receptions — including a 59-yard play in the opening minutes of the game. McRee and junior wide receiver Makai Lemon also picked up more than 60 yards each, with the trio combining for 245 of the team’s 282 receiving yards.
Running backs continue to lead the way
After rushing for 167 yards against Georgia Southern (1-2), junior running back Waymond Jordan had a surprisingly rough start to the game against Purdue, mustering just 4 yards on his first six carries. However, a 6-yard touchdown run to put the Trojans up 17-3 seemed to spark his confidence, as he averaged more than 6 yards per carry the rest of the way.
“We knew it was going to be like that to start the game off, they were gonna start real feisty,” Jordan said in a postgame press conference. “We knew throughout the game they were going to wear down, and we were just going to have to stick with our fundamentals and keep going.”
Once again, USC’s backfield was a highlight, with redshirt senior running back Eli Sanders rushing for 75 yards of his own on 10 carries. Though redshirt freshman running back King Miller cooled down a bit after breaking for touchdowns of more than 40 yards in both of the Trojans’ first two games, he still managed to pick up 17 yards on his four carries.
USC finished the game with 179 rushing yards to Purdue’s 52, allowing the Trojans to lead by more than 100 total yards despite having fewer passing yards.
Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Jamaal Jarrett made his first career interception on a deflected pass in the third quarter and jogged the ball 70 yards to secure his first career touchdown. (Allison Miller / Purdue Exponent Staff Photographer)
Defense comes through despite adversity
Up 20-3 in the third quarter, an errant lateral pass by Purdue could have been a third-quarter interception for redshirt senior linebacker Eric Gentry. Instead, it turned into a Boilermaker touchdown: The ball slipped out of Gentry’s hands and into the arms of redshirt sophomore quarterback Ryan Browne, who proceeded to run it 26 yards into the end zone.
While this sequence may have foreboded an imminent collapse for a 2024 team that blew five fourth-quarter leads, the 2025 team was able to withstand the mishap, outscoring Purdue the rest of the way.
“I never felt like we panicked [or] got upset,” Riley said. “I thought our guys really stayed in the moment. I felt like they were physically and mentally ready the entire way.”
The defensive line continued its reign of terror against opposing quarterbacks, sacking Browne five times — including two from Gentry — for a total loss of 37 yards. Junior safety Christian Pierce and freshman defensive tackle Floyd Boucard both recorded the first sacks of their respective collegiate careers.
On a team with a plethora of candidates for flashy plays and show-stopping catches, however, the biggest moment of the night came from redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Jamaal Jarrett.
In the third quarter, a deflected pass attempt from Browne fell right into the hands of the 360-pound Jarrett, who jogged the ball 70 yards to secure his first career touchdown along with his first interception. The pick-six was the first by a USC defensive tackle since 1999.
“I didn’t even remember the play happened,” Jarrett said in a postgame news conference. “I just looked up and [saw] the ball fall down and said, ‘Oh, snap!’ and just went with it.”
Riley joked that the tackle recording a 70-yard touchdown run was “exactly what [he] thought” would happen entering the game.
“He’s been awesome in our locker room,” Riley said of Jarrett. “He’s had a great spirit ever since he walked in the doors of our program. Obviously, it was the big play of the game.”
Redshirt senior safety Bishop Fitzgerald picked up two interceptions of his own, one of which came late in the fourth quarter to stifle a Purdue comeback attempt and effectively seal the game for the Trojans. Fitzgerald is one of just five players in the Football Bowl Subdivision to have three interceptions at this point in the season.
Next up, USC will return to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a nighttime matchup against Michigan State (3-0) on Saturday at 8 p.m.
