To say USC quarterback Jayden Maiava had a rocky performance in the Las Vegas Bowl would be a massive understatement.
The Trojans’ signal-caller completed 56.4% of his passes, and he made numerous really bad mistakes, including three costly interceptions. However, he stepped up his game late, leading multiple clutch touchdown drives, including the game-winner in the final minutes.
Despite his late improvements, however, Maiava’s performance drew criticism nationally, raising doubt whether he will be USC’s starting QB in 2025. One commentator offered harsh words about the performance on social media.
“Maiava experiment at USC been a massive failure,” said Liam Blutman of Barstool Sports, who also runs the popular “No Context College Football” Twitter account.
“Wish he stuck at UNLV. Instead he went to the school of Caleb Williams Cosplaying and it’s completely neutered his development. Way to go Lincoln!”
It should be noted that this was tweeted during the game, before Maiava led the fourth-quarter comeback. Even factoring that in, there was enough ugliness from his performance to give USC fans concern.
While it is possible that Lincoln Riley pursues a transfer QB this offseason to compete for the job, the most likely scenario is Maiava is USC’s starting QB heading into 2025. Given how his 2024 season ended, it is understandable how that might cause unease among the USC fan base.