The USC Trojans (4-5 straight up, 5-4 against the spread) are benching quarterback Miller Moss and turning to Jayden Maiava when they host Nebraska on Nov. 16 after this week’s open date.
Lincoln Riley’s team fell to 2-5 in Big Ten play in its debut season in the conference with this past Saturday’s 26-21 loss at Washington. Moss threw a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to rally USC into a 21-20 lead over the Huskies.
But Washington got a four-yard TD run from Keith Reynolds with 13:48 remaining and its defense shut the Trojans down the rest of the way to hold on for the victory.
Moss completed 30-of-50 passes for 293 yards and two TDs, but he was intercepted three times. In nine starts this season, Moss has connected on 233-of-362 passes (64.4%) for 2,555 yards with an 18/9 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
All five of USC’s losses have come in one-possession games. Three of the defeats have come by seven combined points, including a 33-30 home loss to Penn St. in overtime and a 29-28 loss at Maryland.
Maiava was selected as the Mountain West Freshman of the Year and garnered second-team All-MWC honors after leading UNLV to a 9-5 SU record and a 10-4 ATS mark last season. In 14 games for the Rebels, he completed 224-of-353 passes (63.5%) for 3,085 yards with a 17/10 TD-INT ratio.
Maiava, who took UNLV to its first bowl game since 2013, is a dual-threat QB who can also make plays with his legs. He had 277 rushing yards, three TDs and a 3.8 YPC average for the Rebels in 2023.
Maiava has played sparingly in three games this year, completing 8-of-11 throws (72.3%) for 66 yards. He has 27 rushing yards and one TD on merely three attempts.
After hosting Nebraska, USC plays at UCLA before its regular-season finale at home vs. Notre Dame.