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From Ryan Kartje: With its first season in the Big Ten slipping away, USC is making a change at quarterback.
Sophomore Jayden Maiava will get his first start for USC when the Trojans return from their bye to host Nebraska on Nov. 16, according to a person familiar with the decision but not authorized to speak publicly.
The move relegates Miller Moss to a reserve role after nine uneven starts this season. Since a strong debut in which Moss led USC to a season-opening win over Louisiana State in Las Vegas, the redshirt junior’s performance had notably regressed, marked by costly mistakes, including critical interceptions in recent weeks as USC dropped four of its last five games, all by a single possession.
What the decision means for the redshirt junior moving forward at USC remains to be seen. But with three games remaining in its season — and with bowl eligibility still within reach — USC now turns to Maiava, hoping that his dual threat ability will help spark an offense that has struggled to deliver when it mattered most this season.
Moss, a former four-star prospect, had patiently waited for his time at USC over the previous two seasons as a backup to Caleb Williams. He finally got his chance last December at the Holiday Bowl, where he threw for six touchdowns, securing his place as the presumptive starter for the following season. At the time, USC coach Lincoln Riley, who said he would seek a quarterback in the transfer portal, joked that Moss’ performance “may have scared off anybody that would want to come here anyway.”
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DODGERS
From Jack Harris: Turns out, Shohei Ohtani was playing through more than just a partially dislocated shoulder in the World Series.
The Dodgers announced Tuesday that Ohtani also suffered a torn labrum when he injured his left shoulder sliding into second base in Game 2 . The slugger underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the tear, the team said, and “is expected to be ready” for spring training in February.
While the Dodgers managed to defeat the New York Yankees in five games to win their second championship in five seasons last week, they had to do it with Ohtani playing through pain over the final three games.
In Game 2, Ohtani jammed his left arm in the ground while sliding into second on an unsuccessful stolen-base attempt. And while he started each of the subsequent three games — at the time, the team publicly described Ohtani’s injury as only a shoulder subluxation — he went just one for 11 the rest of the way.
‘Run it back.’ Will Dodgers keep roster core together for World Series defense?
Public funeral for Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela set for Wednesday morning
RAMS
From Gary Klein: The Rams did not let the NFL trade deadline pass without making a deal.
The Rams traded veteran cornerback Tre’Davious White and a 2027 seventh-round draft pick to Baltimore for a 2026 seventh-round pick.
The trade was no surprise. White, 29, started the first four games but was inactive for the last four. A few weeks ago the Rams gave White and his representatives permission to seek a trade.
As coach Sean McVay did for the last few weeks, general manager Les Snead on Tuesday praised White’s professionalism and reiterated the Rams’ desire to find a situation for White where he would have an opportunity.
“We wanted to come up with a win-win,” Snead said during a video conference with reporters. “Obviously, we could have kept him in case of an emergency as an insurance policy.”
CHARGERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Joe Hortiz made aggressive moves this offseason, but when it came to Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, the Chargers’ general manager stood firm with the roster he built.
The Chargers didn’t complete a move before the deadline as the 5-3 team that’s currently sixth in the AFC playoff standings waits for encouraging injury news instead of transactions to strengthen its roster at wide receiver and cornerback.
When asked about the trade deadline last month, Hortiz, a first-time general manager after 26 years in the personnel department of the Baltimore Ravens, said the Chargers would be “looking and listening,” but stressed that potential transactions needed to make sense for the current season and the future. The Chargers, who haven’t won a playoff game since 2018, are in their first year of a new era under Hortiz and coach Jim Harbaugh.
KINGS
Trevor Lewis scored twice, Kevin Fiala added another on the power play and the Kings beat the Minnesota Wild 5-1 on Tuesday night.
Fiala’s go-ahead goal was the second goal in a span of 4:25 in the second. Alex Laferriere centered to a wide-open Fiala in the slot, where the veteran winger one-timed a shot past Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson.
Warren Foegele and Quinton Byfield also scored for the Kings, who were playing the second night of a back-to-back after a 3-0 win in Nashville a night earlier. It was the first goal of the season for Byfield, a 20-goal scorer a season ago.
DUCKS
Brock Boeser, Danton Heinen and Kiefer Sherwood had a goal and an assist apiece, and Quinn Hughes recorded his 300th career assist in the Vancouver Canucks’ 5-1 victory over the Ducks on Tuesday night, Vancouver’s sixth consecutive win over the Ducks.
Boeser and former Ducks forward Sherwood scored 57 seconds apart in the first period, turning an early deficit into a lead never relinquished by the Canucks.
Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson also scored and Hughes had three assists for the Canucks, who have won six of eight. Kevin Lankinen made 21 saves.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1869 — First U.S. college football game played, Rutgers 6, Princeton 4.
1966 — Philadelphia’s Timmy Brown returns kickoffs 93 yards and 90 yards for touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a 24-23 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
1981 — Larry Holmes knocks out Renaldo Snipes in the 11th round to retain the world heavyweight title in Pittsburgh.
1988 — Britain’s Steve Jones win the New York City Marathon in 2:08:20, the fastest time in the world this year. His margin of victory, 3 minutes and 21 seconds over Salvatore Bettiol, is the largest in the history of the five-borough race. Grete Waitz wins an unprecedented ninth women’s title, finishing in 2:28:07 well ahead of Italy’s Laura Fogli (2:31:26).
1992 — Manon Rheaume of the Atlanta Knights becomes the first woman to suit up for a regular-season pro hockey game. The 20-year-old goalie doesn’t play in Atlanta’s 3-2 overtime loss to Cincinnati in the IHL game.
1993 — French-based Arcangues stages the biggest Breeders’ Cup upset, rallying to beat Bertrando by 2 lengths in the $3 million Classic at Santa Anita. Arcangues went off at 133-1 and returned $269.20 on a $2 bet.
1993 — Evander Holyfield regains the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships from Riddick Bowe in a fight disrupted by a parachutist. During the seventh round at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the chutist tumbles into the ringside seats and stops the fight for 21 minutes. Holyfield becomes the fourth man to become a heavyweight champion at least twice.
1995 — Art Modell officially announces Cleveland Browns are moving to Baltimore.
1999 — Charles Roberts rushes for 409 yards and five touchdowns to lead Sacramento State past Idaho State 41-20, setting a new NCAA record for a single-game rushing performance.
2005 — Annika Sorenstam becomes the first player in LPGA Tour history to win a tournament five straight times, shooting an 8-under 64 for a three-stroke victory in the Mizuno Classic.
2010 — Michigan wins the highest scoring game in its 131-year history by stopping a 2-point conversion attempt in the third overtime for a 67-65 victory over Illinois.
2010 — Zenyatta comes within a head of finishing a perfect career. Horse racing’s biggest star closes from dead last, but Blame holds off the 6-year-old mare and wins the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic under the lights Churchill Downs. Zenyatta entered the race hoping to improve to 20-0 on her career.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.