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He was on the brink of the biggest moment of his football career last November when Jayden Maiava tried firing a back-shoulder pass to the sideline and disaster struck.
His third start at USC, to that point, had been his best, by far. While Notre Dame rolled over USC’s run defense, the young quarterback kept the Trojans afloat, passing for three scores and rushing for two more in a performance reminiscent of the one that, in 2022, secured Caleb Williams his Heisman Trophy.
But then came that sideline throw in the final minutes. The pass was picked off by the Irish and returned for a touchdown. A few minutes later, having led USC back into the red zone once again, Maiava threw a second, back-breaking pick-six.
Those two interceptions, as well as his four others through four starts last season, stuck in Maiava’s mind all spring and summer, as the junior dove into film study and made cutting down on turnovers and bouncing back from poor decisions a priority.
And with Notre Dame on tap once again this weekend, this time with College Football Playoff implications for both teams, the progress since their previous meeting has been palpable. Through six games, Maiava has thrown only two interceptions, while Pro Football Focus has charged him with just five turnover-worthy throws out of 172 attempts.
That improvement has made a major difference for USC’s passing attack, which has so far this season been the most explosive in college football. Maiava is averaging 10.8 yards per attempt, which not only leads the nation this year, but would rank among the best over the past five years.
He has yet to be tested, though, by a defense as aggressive as Notre Dame. While the Irish have allowed opponents to pile up a ton of passing yards through the season’s first half, they’ve also been among the most opportunistic when it comes to takeaways. Their 11 interceptions through six games ranks second in the nation.
Maiava knows he can’t afford to let that trend continue if USC has hopes of knocking off its rival on the road.
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava stays within the pocket and appears for a cross choice towards Notre Dame final season on the Coliseum.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Instances)
“I think of it in terms of just getting back in that film room, locking into the calls, trusting where my eyes need to be and continuing to make the right decision,” Maiava mentioned.
In a rivalry matchup the place the margins are sometimes extremely skinny, one fallacious choice from Maiava might make the distinction — each Saturday and in USC’s season as an entire. The truth that rain is within the forecast might solely make issues tougher.
However the outcomes to this point this season recommend that Maiava is as much as that problem.
“I think it’s mostly just experience,” Riley mentioned. “He’s playing the game more now than just running plays, and I think he has a great understanding of when he can be aggressive.”
Right here’s what else to observe as No. 20 USC travels to South Bend, Indiana to take No. 13 Notre Dame on Saturday evening.
