By Ralph Russo, Bruce Feldman and Antonio Morales
USC is making a quarterback switch from Miller Moss to Jayden Maiava after losing four of its last five games, a person briefed on the decision told The Athletic on Tuesday. The move was first reported by USCFootball.com.
Moss, a senior, has started every game this season for USC, throwing for 2,555 yards (second most in the Big Ten) with 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
The Trojans, 4-5 overall and 2-5 in the Big Ten, are off this week after losing at Washington 26-21 on Saturday. All of USC’s losses have been by seven points or fewer. The Trojans next play Nebraska at home on Nov. 16 and Maiava is expected to start.
Maiava transferred from UNLV to USC after last season and competed with Moss for the starting job in the offseason. As a freshman last season, Maiava passed for 3,085 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while leading the Rebels to a 9-5 record and a Mountain West title game appearance.
How did USC get here?
Moss was pretty good at the start of the season and had clutch moments early on, such as the game-winning drive in the season-opening victory over LSU. He started taking a lot of hits two games later against Michigan, though, and that continued over the next month.
He’s supposed to be a good decision-maker who keeps the offense on schedule. But weeks and weeks of hits and pressures seemingly piled up. Moss regressed in the past few weeks. His throws were more off-target and his decision-making wasn’t as good, and he committed costly turnovers in each of USC’s five losses. The offense has lacked explosive plays as well.
It should be noted that while Moss hasn’t been perfect, he could be a good quarterback under the right circumstances. That hasn’t been the case this season. The offensive line isn’t great. The young receivers are inconsistent. And some of Riley’s game plans have asked the QB to do too much. Now it’ll be Maiava’s job to work around the issues. — Morales
What should be expected from Maiava?
The obvious thing will be mobility. He’s more athletic and has a stronger arm than Moss. We still need to see what he is as a decision-maker and passer. At the very least, he should open up the QB-run element of the offense. That part has been missing with Moss, and defenses have certainly noticed because they don’t have to respect the read option as much. For Maiava, this will serve as a good audition for next year’s starting job. He can either seize it, or Riley will decide he needs to upgrade through the portal. — Morales
Required reading
Programs are defined by their quarterback and coach. USC faces major questions at both
(Photo: Keith Birmingham / MediaNews Group / Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
