USC trailed UCLA 13-9 with 8:16 to go, staring down the barrel of another disappointing defeat in another winnable game.
But something looked different from games past this season: Number 14. Quarterback Jayden Maiava hadn’t had the best game, going 15-30 for 162 yards and no scores until that point. The redshirt sophomore narrowly avoided disaster when tight end Walker Lyons recovered his fumble and the offense had failed to score a single touchdown in three red zone trips.
Then, USC’s newest leader stepped up. Maiava led a three-play, 49-yard touchdown drive to give the Trojans the lead. The final play, a magical scramble first to his right, then back across to the left sideline to find sophomore receiver Ja’Kobi Lane in the back of the end zone, was reminiscent of Heisman winner Caleb Williams.
After the game, Maiava deflected praise onto his “resilient” offensive line, receivers, defense and coaches and said his own performance could “definitely be a lot better.”
He’s right, but when it mattered most, Maiava was at the top of his game, a clutchness Trojan fans haven’t seen this season.
Since the season-opener against LSU, USC had scored just two go-ahead touchdowns in the fourth quarter before head coach Lincoln Riley decided to make a change at quarterback; at Michigan and versus Penn State. The Trojans lost both games.
At the Rose Bowl, Maiava wasn’t finished with just a touchdown.
First, USC’s defense forced a quick Bruins three-and-out, then stuffed a QB sneak attempt on fourth down with 4:59 remaining.
Then, after two runs from redshirt senior tailback Woody Marks and an offensive penalty, Maiava stared down a 3rd & 5 with 3:03 remaining. USC was just 3-12 on third down on Saturday night, but the sophomore transfer found redshirt junior wide receiver Kyron Hudson on a quick out for eleven yards. Even though USC couldn’t punch in another touchdown, the key third down conversion sucked another minute off the clock and meant UCLA would need a touchdown rather than a field goal on its final drive.
Needing just one more stop to bring the Victory Bell home, the Trojan defense stood tall one final time.
“We’re battle tested,” said Riley after the win. But no battle was quite like the one the Trojans faced this week.
27 players and over half of the staff missed Tuesday’s practice after a flu virus blew through the locker room this week. Riley acknowledged the “disjointed” nature of the week’s preparation, but insisted it couldn’t be used as an excuse.
“We said last night at the team meeting, we wake up in the morning, nobody’s sick. Period,” said Riley.
Maiava, coughing into his shirt, cited the team’s resiliency throughout the week and during the game. But, in a season filled with late-game meltdowns, Maiava’s introduction has flipped the script.
Despite being benched, Miller Moss was not the reason USC lost so many close games this season. But, when the lights were brightest, the Moss-led Trojan offense couldn’t rise to the occasion. In each of USC’s five losses — Michigan, Penn State, Minnesota and Washington — Moss and the offense failed to score a single point from their final two drives.
In the final two drives in each of his first two games as USC’s starter, Maiava has led the Trojans to 17 points and two wins. Last week against Nebraska, he led a 13-play touchdown drive that lasted almost eight minutes, extending USC’s lead to eight and leaving Nebraska with little time to mount a comeback. Against UCLA, he also sealed the first USC victory away from the Coliseum this season.
It won’t get any easier for Maiava and USC with No. 5 Notre Dame coming to the Coliseum riding a nine-game winning streak.
The Fighting Irish have the second-best scoring defense in the country, allowing fewer than 12 points per game. They allow conversions on fewer than 30% of third downs, keeping opposing teams out of the end zone on 50% of their red zone trips.
Should the Irish prove too staunch opposition for Maiava and USC, don’t fret. This is about the long game. Trojan fans: you might just have your new quarterback of the future.
But, if USC can keep it close, watch out for Maiava and the newly-clutch Trojans to come to life as time ticks down.