USC vs Purdue Pick & Prediction – 9/13/2025
The USC Trojans and Purdue Boilermakers will open conference play against each other on Saturday afternoon. USC and Purdue have both cruised to double-digit wins in each of their first two games of the season. They will look to stay unbeaten here and USC is a heavy favorite to accomplish that. Here, I look at the keys to this game for both teams and give you my USC vs Purdue prediction from West Lafayette.
Our USC vs Purdue Pick
- Pick: Over 59.5
- Confidence: ★★★☆☆
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Game Snapshot
- Matchup: USC Trojans vs Purdue Boilermakers
- Date & Time: Saturday, September 13, 2025, 3:30 p.m. ET
- Venue: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
- Broadcast: CBS
Key Storylines
- USC has been playing fast and free offensively to start this season. They have outscored their first two opponents by a combined margin of 132-33. This is their first road game of the season, though, and they will try to prove themselves in a hostile environment in their first Big Ten game of the year.
- Purdue’s reset under head coach Barry Odom started with a 31-0 shutout of Ball State. They followed that up with a 17-point win over FCS Southern Illinois. Purdue is not expected to hold up well against the high-powered offense of USC but they are more than capable of competing here.
- The USC offense is never a question mark. It is their defense that leaves them vulnerable at times. That defense will have its first chance to prove itself against Big Ten competition for this season in this game.
Quarterback Play
Jayden Maiava has performed exactly how you would expect a Lincoln Riley quarterback to perform early in the season. He has over 700 passing yards and six touchdown passes with no interceptions through two games. But we have seen highly-touted quarterbacks do this before under Riley before falling apart against power conference opponents. Maiava will get his first Big Ten test of the season on Saturday.
Ryan Browne’s tape against Ball State showed command at the line and willingness to push the ball outside the numbers. He has nearly 250 passing yards per game with four touchdown passes and one interception. He will also face his first real test of the year in this contest.
Betting Trends & H2H
- USC is 2-0 against the spread to open the season.
- Purdue is 1-1 against the spread thus far.
- USC is 3-1 all-time against Purdue with the last meeting between these teams coming in 1998.
USC vs Purdue Model Projection
Score Projection: USC 41 – Purdue 23
Win Probability: USC 67%, Purdue 33%
Final Thoughts
Both teams have looked good to start this season against vastly inferior competition. We will find out a lot more about these teams after this week. I would like to think that USC is going to win handily here, but being on the road to start conference play might not be a great spot for them. I like the over more than I like betting on either side to cover the spread on Saturday.
