In the last gasps of a lost season, USC’s new quarterback stood in the Coliseum tunnel, his mind racing. Any last hopes of the Trojans salvaging their season — or at least securing a bowl bid —rested on his broad shoulders. Not to mention that his arrival would make history at USC, where he became the first-ever quarterback of Polynesian descent. Back in Hawaii, where his family is from, televisions were tuned in at watch parties meant just for him.

The surreality of that moment hit Jayden Maiava all at once Saturday. Nothing had been guaranteed when he transferred to USC more than 10 months earlier, joining a USC offense that already had a presumptive starter in Miller Moss. But he’d taken a chance and trusted the process, keeping his head down through nine games, and now, the keys to the Trojans’ offense were his.

Settle down, Maiava told himself. Trust your preparation. Keep going.

But then, just a few plays into USC’s 28-20 win over Nebraska, disaster struck for the Trojans’ new starter. As pressure closed in on third-and-long, Maiava floated a pass over wideout Kyle Ford and straight to Nebraska — and former Trojan — cornerback Ceyair Wright, who managed to work his way 49 yards to the opposite end zone.

“When you start like that,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said, “that’s the last thing you want to happen.”

It was the kind of moment that might have taken the wind out of a young quarterback’s sails, a turning point where everything would have otherwise gone sideways for the Trojans, for whom plenty has gone sideways through a 5-5 season.

But Riley pulled Maiava aside after the pick and put a hand on his shoulder. Trust your eyes, he told him. Keep going.

And so Maiava would keep firing away. He threw deep once, then again, then again, adding a wrinkle to USC’s offense that had been missing since the departure of Caleb Williams. He threaded the needle through a crowd of defenders on third down. He launched a prayer 30 yards downfield while scrambling full speed toward the sideline, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that his receiver, Duce Robinson, had in fact come back to catch his underthrown ball.

USC wide receiver Zachariah Branch scores on a touchdown reception in the first half Saturday against Nebraska.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

“They took so much off my shoulders,” Maiava said of USC’s weapons on offense.

That trust in his receivers — and in his own arm — might have seemed perilous at points Saturday. But it was where Maiava impressed Riley most in his first start.

“He missed a few throws that he normally makes,” Riley said. “But he was very trusting of our guys, and I think for the majority of the game, he played very decisive, which was key. “

His performance Saturday would both equally dazzle and confound, as mistakes one moment gave way to dynamic plays the next. But after starting two of seven with a pick-six, Maiava managed to complete 23 of his last 28 passes. Through one stretch, as he led USC on consecutive touchdown drives coming off the interception, Maiava completed nine straight passes. In others, USC’s offense went through extended lulls. He would finish with 259 yards and three touchdowns, to go with 20 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

“He’s going to take risks,” linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold said. “Some go his way, some don’t. That’s just kind of why I think he’s a great player. He’s willing to take those risks over and over again, regardless of the play before.”

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1. USC coach Lincoln Riley watches from the sideline against Nebraska. 2. USC running back Woody Marks carries the ball in the second half. 3. USC wide receiver Zachariah Branch celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the first half. 4. USC quarterback Jayden Maiava runs with the ball. 5. USC defensive tackle Elijah Hughes (56) celebrates with teammates after sacking Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola in the first half. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

And so here Maiava was again, with five minutes left in the fourth quarter and a chance to right the wrongs of USC’s previous two drives. One had ended at his hand, with a fumble knocked loose deep in Trojans territory. The other was squandered with a blocked field goal.

It felt like a familiar fourth-quarter turning point for a team that had so many times before let late leads slip away. As Maiava stood behind the line on fourth-and-one, just across midfield, wideout Zachariah Branch sprinted into motion. Maiava faked the pop pass and took off to his left, pitching the ball on an option to running back Woody Marks, who sprinted 34 yards to safety.

The run would be even more meaningful for Marks, who crossed the 1,000-yard threshold on that carry. He’d finish with 146 yards, a career-high, against one of the better run defenses in the Big Ten, despite being sick enough during the week that USC wasn’t sure he’d play.

“He’s answered the bell for us all year long,” Riley said.

USC’s defense, too, would turn in one of its better performances, holding the Huskers to a meager 4.8 yards per play, their second-lowest total of the season. When mistakes threatened to derail USC on Saturday, it was often the defense that stepped up. Twice, it intercepted quarterback Dylan Raiola, who was held under 200 yards passing.

“We just keep chopping, keep chopping the wood,” cornerback Greedy Vance Jr. said. “We don’t give up. We don’t point the finger.”

It was Vance who would get his hands on the final play of the afternoon, after Nebraska drove the field in the final minute in a desperate attempt to tie it up. But Vance stepped in front of Raiola’s pass, pulling down an interception in the final seconds. Then, he turned around and gave the ball to USC’s athletic director, Jennifer Cohen, who was standing nearby.

USC cornerback Greedy Vance Jr., right, celebrates after intercepting a pass in the final seconds to seal the Trojans’ 28-20 win over Nebraska at the Coliseum on Saturday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

It was a joyous moment, one Riley hopes USC can build on over the next two weeks as rivals UCLA and Notre Dame await, with bowl eligibility still on the line.

“I think to be the program we want to be, we’re going to have to be great at the end of seasons,” Riley said. “That’s what good teams, good programs do. They, no matter the ebbs and flows or ups and downs of seasons, they get better.”

Maiava would experience a bit of both on Saturday. And after the final seconds ticked away, with a victory in hand, he’d head over to the seats where he knew his family was sitting.

There was one last surprise in store.

“I only had four tickets, and I thought only four people were coming,” Maiava said with a smile. “Obviously that didn’t happen.”