Lincoln Riley praises Purdue going into matchup with USC football

On Saturday, USC football will travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, to take on Purdue. After beating up on two low-level Group of Five teams, this will mark the Trojans’ first opportunity in 2025 to face a Big Ten opponent.

Last year, Purdue was probably the worst Power Four team in the entire country. The Boilermakers finished the 2024 season 1-11, including 0-11 against FBS opponents. They were not just losing, though, they were getting blown out, as eight of Purdue’s 11 losses came by three or more scores.

This year, however, Purdue should be an entirely different team. The Boilermakers brought in UNLV’s Barry Odom as their new head coach, and he hired USC offensive line coach Josh Henson as the team’s offensive coordinator.

So what can USC fans expect from the new-look Purdue squad? In his weekly appearance on USC’s “Trojans Live” show Monday, head coach Lincoln Riley discussed USC’s next opponent.

“Purdue is much improved,” Riley said. “It’s a totally different team. They have close to 80 new players between the portal and true freshmen. It’s a brand new staff with a new system.

“Studying anything from previous years with Purdue is basically useless. They’ve done a good job. They’ve played well in the first couple of games. They’ve played well defensively. They’ve really held people down. They’ve done a nice job offensively of both running and throwing the football. They’ve got some confidence.

“They’re 2-0. They’re feeling good. They did a good job with their roster decisions. They’ve brought in some really good impactful players.”

Purdue has won its first two games of 2025. While those contests were against Ball State and Southern Illinois, that is notable because it means that the Boilermakers have already doubled their win total from last season.

Ultimately, USC is still heavily favored in this game for good reason. However, the Trojans cannot overlook the Boilermakers, as this is not the same hapless team from last year. After going 0-3 in Midwest road trips last season, USC is desperate for a victory outside of the Pacific Time Zone. Saturday is a great opportunity to make that happen.