Tag: Jayden Maiava

A look back at Nebraska’s last visit to the Los Angeles Coliseum

The USC-Nebraska game played in 2006 marked a Trojan quarterback’s home debut. Jayden Maiava makes his first home start for USC, 18 years later.

On Saturday, USC will host Nebraska at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This will mark the first meeting between the Trojans and the Cornhuskers as Big Ten opponents. USC and Nebraska have met just five times prior, with the Trojans holding a record of 4-0-1 in those games.

Nebraska has visited the Coliseum just twice. The most recent of those visits came in September of 2006.

The days leading into the game were turbulent ones at USC. The week prior, the Trojans had gone into the heart of SEC country and opened the season with a 50-14 throttling of Arkansas. Head coach Pete Carroll’s team returned home to the Coliseum for their first home games of the post-Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush era. Both Leinart and Bush’s jerseys were officially retired prior to the game against the Cornhuskers.

During the lead-up to the game, however, reports began to surface that Bush had received improper benefits from an agent during his time at USC. As we all know, this would eventually lead to a mutli-year NCAA investigation that resulted in USC receiving incredibly harsh sanctions that would hold the program down for the better part of a decade.

As for the game itself, it was not particularly close. Although Nebraska scored first on an early field goal, the Trojans then went on a 21-0 run to largely put the game out of reach by the third quarter. When the clock hit zero, Pete Carroll’s team had a 28-10 victory to improve to 2-0 on the season.

The star of the show was Leinart’s replacement, new starting quarterback John David Booty. Making his second college start—and first in the Coliseum—Booty completed 25 of 36 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns. Star wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett was also superb, catching 11 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns.

Ironically enough, this Saturday’s matchup will also feature a USC quarterback making his first start in the Coliseum. The Trojans are hoping that Jayden Maiava can channel a little Booty magic of yesteryear and lead the team to a victory over Nebraska.

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The big loser in USC football’s quarterback change? Eric Musselman

Eric Musselman and USC are 2-0, but the football team was still the big story of the week due to its QB change. It’s a reminder about what gets the headlines.

Monday night at USC basketball was supposed to be all about Eric Musselman. Coaching his first game in charge of the USC men’s basketball program, the “Muss Bus” impressed in his debut. The Trojans dominated UT Chattanooga in a wire-to-wire 77-51 victory. Unfortunately for Musselman, however, he only had the spotlight for barely an hour after the game ended. That was because around 10 p.m. local time on Monday night in Los Angeles, it was reported that the football team was making a change at quarterback, and turning to Jayden Maiava to start against Nebraska.

Suddenly, Musselman and the basketball team were pushed to the back page. With the attention of USC fans naturally turning toward the big football news, they quickly forgot about the impressive performance from Musselman’s team in a game they had just watched.

Oh, and to top it all off, there was an election the next day — that was kind of important.

Fortunately for Musselman, Monday was only the first game of a long season. He and his team will have plenty of other opportunities to play their way back into the spotlight. USC beat Idaho State on Thursday in a game which was not on national television. It’s just as well: USC didn’t play particularly well. Yet, the Trojans are 2-0 and are trying to build something special under Musselman.

For the time being, however, being pushed aside by football in the news cycle must have been at least a little bit frustrating for the new head coach.

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Timing was important in USC quarterback change

One reason for this USC quarterback switch from Miller Moss to Jayden Maiava really stands out. It reinforces why this was the right time to make the move.

On Monday night, it was reported that USC will be making a change at quarterback. After redshirt junior starter Miller Moss struggled in a loss at Washington, the Trojans will turn to redshirt sophomore UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava when they take on Nebraska.

While segments of the fan base had been calling on head coach Lincoln Riley to make a quarterback change for several weeks prior, the timing was seemingly challenging. After Moss had an up-and-down day in a loss at Maryland, the Trojans had a short week, returning to the field just five days later against Rutgers.

Against the Scarlet Knights, Moss played well, completing 20 of 28 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns. It was enough to silence the doubters for at least a week. On the road in Seattle, however, he threw three interceptions in a 26-21 loss, once again raising questions about his future as the starter.

There is no good time to make an in-season quarterback change, but with the Trojans having a break this upcoming week, it is about the least bad timing they could ask for. Maiava will have a full two weeks of practice before his first start in Cardinal and Gold.

Further, USC will not leave Los Angeles County again this regular season. The Trojans will play two of their final three games at home, with the one “road” game coming against crosstown rival UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Hence, Maiava will not be thrown into any truly hostile environments the rest of the year.

It is obviously a tough break for Moss, who opened the season by leading the Trojans to a signature victory over LSU and had been having a solid season overall. Yet, with USC sitting at 4-5, Riley desperately needed to switch something up in order to potentially make a bowl game and salvage something out of what has been a lost season.

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National columnist says Miller Moss is taking the fall for Lincoln Riley at USC

Miller Moss is not the problem with the USC Trojans’ struggles, rather Lincoln Riley is covering up his own failure.

After starting the season 3-1 and moving up to No. 11 in the AP Poll, the USC Trojans plummeted with losses to Minnesota, Penn State, and Maryland. The Trojans are just 1-3 in their last four games, but the weight of the struggle seems to have fallen on the wrong shoulders.

It was announced earlier this week that quarterback Miller Moss lost the starting job to transfer Jayden Maiava, but Moss and the offense are not entirely the problem. The Trojans have scored 21 or more points in eight of their nine games this season while scoring 28 or more in three of their last four.

This season, Moss has a 64.3% completion rate with 18 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Four players — Woody Marks, Makai Lemon, Zachariah Branch, and Ja’Kobi Lane — all have 32 or more receptions, while Lane (5) and Lemon (3) are amongst the teams’ top TD targets.

The Trojans rank fifth in points scored this season in the Big Ten behind Iowa, Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana.

While the offense surely has room to improve, it is clearly still performing at high levels, which begs the question: Is Lincoln Riley just using Miller Moss as a scapegoat to cover up his atrocity of a season?

College football columnist Patrick Conn of College Sports Wire makes a good point when he notes that the quarterback is far from the only reason USC has struggled in 2024. This is not a one-man problem:

Moss didn’t play particularly well in their last game against the Washington Huskies, turning the ball over with three interceptions. Moss doesn’t have terrible numbers by any stretch but this feels like someone having to take the fall. Maiava could provide a spark for this team but even when the quarterback play has been good, this team has found ways to lose.

USC has lost as a team this year, meaning that in the games USC lost, the blame generally couldn’t be placed on any one player or position group. Some position groups have been more disappointing than others, but a little bit of everything has gone wrong in these games. To an extent, the move to Jayden Maiava might be Lincoln Riley’s way of hoping that the other USC players will step up to help their quarterback.

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Lincoln Riley benches Miller Moss as Jayden Maiava gets the start vs Nebraska

Quarterback Jayden Maiava will start for the Trojans in their upcoming matchup against Nebraska, replacing Miller Moss.

Here’s a big story in the world of USC football: It has been confirmed that Jayden Maiava will be promoted to starting quraterback when USC faces Nebraska in two weeks. Lincoln Riley benching Miller Moss is a decision that comes with some questions.

An obvious first question is this: Why are the Trojans allowing Nebraska two weeks’ notice to game-plan for the change?

Miller Moss and Maiava have different play styles, so releasing this news so early gives an unnecessary advantage to Nebraska in being able to plan for the change.

In terms of head coach Lincoln Riley, it seems as though this move can only negatively impact him.

If Maiava can turn around the team and his promotion to starter is positive, we will be forced to ask why Riley waited so long to make the change.

If the change is for the worse, Trojan fans will feel further confirmation that Riley needs to go and does not have what it takes to turn this program around.

One thing is clear: At least this team is trying. At least the coaching staff has not thrown in the towel, even though the season has not gone the way anybody hoped. Whether Maiava will be a positive change is yet to be seen, but developing the sophomore transfer against a beatable Nebraska team is something that should get fans excited.

USC announces who won its starting quarterback battle

The Trojans have selected their starting quarterback

Like many schools across the country, USC had a battle to determine who its starting 2024 quarterback is.

Unlike, Notre Dame, the Trojans didn’t enter fall practices with a clear frontrunner, and on Tuesday they named [autotag]Miller Moss[/autotag] as the starter. He beat out [autotag]Jayden Maiava[/autotag], as head coach Lincoln Riley said that he was the more consistent of the two.

Moss had played sparingly in his first three seasons at USC, but did put up a very impressive performance against Louisville in the Holiday Bowl. He threw for 6 touchdowns to just one interception, accounting for 372 passing yards.

The Irish will travel to Los Angeles to conclude its regular season on November 30th, and there is plenty that could change between now and then.

Clearly we will continue to monitor what is happening with the USC program, as one of Notre Dame’s biggest rivals, it’s a normal practice to keep an eye on them.

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Miller Moss heads into summer with more work to do at USC

If you were to compare Miller Moss to a starting NFL QB, who would it be?

Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Caleb Williams went No. 1 to the Chicago Bears in the 2024 NFL draft. He will likely be replaced as the USC starting quarterback by Miller Moss, who has been waiting in the wings for the past few years under Lincoln Riley and watching his offense from the sidelines. The situation encompassing Moss and Jayden Maiava is a point of considerable interest at USC heading into the summer.

USC junior quarterback Miller Moss led the Trojans to a win over Louisville in the Holiday Bowl. Moss went 23 for 33 passing for 372 yards and a school-record six touchdowns in a bowl game.

The season ended well for USC but was a major disappointment overall with an 8-5 record, including losses to rivals UCLA and Notre Dame.

For a brief period of time in December, USC was projected to bring in former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard, who ended up at Ohio State as the starter this incoming season.

“I think Lincoln really wanted to see me play (in the Holiday Bowl) and then was going to make a decision,” Moss said, “because I think he wanted to see if what happened in the game confirmed his practice evaluation.”

Jayden Maiava was added by USC as competition for Moss. He committed to USC over Georgia in a drama filled offseason. The Honolulu native, last season at UNLV, threw for 3,085 yards and 17 touchdowns with 10 interceptions while also rushing for 277 yards and three touchdowns.

After the way Miller played in the bowl game,” Riley said, “we felt extremely confident in him, and we really felt like there was not much of a need to really pursue anybody that was older,” . “We’re going to let those two guys duke it out.”

Maiava has some Drew Lock to his game with his 6-4, 220-pound frame and arm strength, but he needs to work on his intermediate game and accuracy.

Moss has physical limitations. He’s lighter, shorter, doesn’t have a cannon for an arm, and lacks high upside, but he reminds me a lot of Brock Purdy in terms of what he can do in the passing game and with his legs when needed.

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USC quarterback Jayden Maiava explains why he flipped from Georgia

Highly-rated transfer quarterback Jayden Maiava explains why he flipped to USC from Georgia this winter

Highly-touted UNLV transfer quarterback Jayden Maiava originally committed to transferring to Georgia. However, not long after committing to the Bulldogs, Maiava had a change of heart and flipped to the USC Trojans.

After a spring practice, Maiava explained why he committed to USC so soon after being committed to Georgia.

“I wanted to play under Lincoln Riley. The things that he’s done, the accomplishments that he has underneath his belt and being able to go out there and compete against the best…(Coach Riley is) just such a great dude. I mean, sitting in the film room, the knowledge that he has. It’s amazing,” said Maiava.

Maiava’s decommitment left Georgia thin at quarterback behind returning starter Carson Beck. The Bulldogs have Gunner Stockton as Beck’s back-up and just one other scholarship quarterback in four-star freshman Ryan Puglisi.

It is hard to blame Jayden Maiava for transferring to USC because of Lincoln Riley’s excellent track record of developing quarterbacks. Riley weighed in on Maiava’s decision to commit to USC shortly after making a verbal pledge with Georgia.

“I think he just decided this is really where he wanted to be. The recruiting process can be tough on guys. Emotions and all that can really play a factor and I think it probably did for him a little bit. And especially for transfers, where it happens so quickly,” said Riley.

Maiava is expected to be a back-up quarterback at USC, but has the upside to be the Trojans’ quarterback of the future. Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs may have to turn to the transfer portal in order to add another quarterback after spring practice.

Lincoln Riley is playing chess with Miller Moss and Jayden Maiava at USC

Lincoln Riley has a quarterback competition at USC, but he structured it very intentionally and carefully.

The USC Trojans have a quarterback comepetition in the spring between Miller Moss and Jayden Maiava. That’s not our opinion. That’s not any commentator’s attempt to create controversy or manufacture drama That’s Lincoln Riley’s stated plan. However, while Riley has been up front in saying this is a genuine competition, we can look beneath the surface and identify a few layers to what Riley is thinking and doing.

We noted this point:

“Lincoln Riley said last week that he did not want a portal quarterback who was older. That quarterback obviously would have come to USC expecting to start. Otherwise, such a quarterback would not have transferred to the program. This is why Will Howard never did transfer to USC. An upperclassman would have reasonably expected to start for the Trojans. Riley didn’t want that because he wanted Miller Moss to have a chance to be the guy, but Riley did want a quarterback competition. He wanted Moss to have reasonable odds of becoming the starter instead of putting an established veteran above him.”

This is such an important point in the context of this “competition.” It is a competition, but Riley wanted the competition to be something Moss could reasonably handle. If Will Howard or another older quarterback came to USC, that quarterback would expect to start, period. Bringing in Maiava as a younger quarterback makes Moss the preferred candidate for the Week 1 start against LSU.

Put it this way: It’s still a real competition, but Maiava would have to absolutely blow out Moss — greatly exceeding him — in order to take the QB1 spot. If it’s remotely close or there’s any uncertainty at all, Moss gets the nod. Riley wanted it this way. Moss is still extremely likely to be the guy, even though it’s a legitimate competition. The contours of the competition are what you need to pay attention to.

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No USC fans should be worried about Miller Moss-Jayden Maiava spring QB battle

USC fans, you don’t have to be concerned about this QB competition in the spring. Truly.

The spring football portion of the USC offseason contains many storylines. One of the bigger ones is the competition at the quarterback spot between Miller Moss and Jayden Maiava.

We wrote about this earlier:

“Most USC fans, if you ask them, would say that Miller Moss has already earned the starting job for the 2024 season and that crucial season-opening game against LSU in Las Vegas on Labor Day weekend. What will be interesting to see is if Riley will be willing to elevate Maiava to the starting job or if this “competition” is really just a way of making sure Miller Moss earns QB1 status without having it given to him before spring ball even begins.”

No one at USC should be worried about this battle. Why? Miller Moss getting competition is a way of keeping him sharp and hungry. Giving him the job right now might create a sense of entitlement. Lincoln Riley wants to make sure Moss remains on his game. It’s a good way to motivate a player and improve the odds of accountability and responsibility existing at the quarterback position. There’s really no harm in having Miller Moss work a little more to earn this job. Pete Carroll famously said, “Always compete!” This is a Carroll-like move by Riley to have a real quarterback competition.

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