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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