The Trojans pile up 263 first-half yards, and defensive tackle Jamaal Jarrett scores on a 70-yard pick-six for their first Big Ten road win of the season.
USC traveled halfway across the country for its Big Ten opener and endured a three-hour weather delay before beating Purdue 33-17 on Saturday.
Showers and storms had been hovering around the area before warmups, but had initially cleared out. The showers recirculated the area about an hour before the 3:30 p.m. EST contest was slated to kick off. Those storms hung around the stadium, resulting in a three-hour and five-minute delay in the kickoff.
USC entered the matchup without winning a game in the Eastern time zone since 2012, when it defeated Syracuse in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The Trojans converted three of their first four drives into points, tallied 263 first-half yards, and led at halftime 17-3.
After forcing a Purdue punt on the opening drive, the Trojans didn’t waste much time getting into Boilermaker territory. On a third and 6, USC quarterback Jayden Maiava connected with Ja’Kobi Lane along the near sideline for a 59-yard connection. After a Purdue pass interference call, the Trojans had the ball inside the Boilers’ 7-yard line. However, the drive stalled, and the visitors settled for an early 3-0 lead on a 24-yard field goal from Ryon Sayeri.
Purdue then put together what seemed to be a quick response, as it took the Boilers just five plays to get the ball inside the Trojan 10-yard line. Then, the USC defense stood tall. On third and goal at the USC 3-yard line, Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne slung a pass over the middle, only for it to be jumped and intercepted by Bishop Fitzgerald, preserving a 3-0 lead.
