USC quarterback Jayden Maiava has been playing above-average football, but the signal-caller’s deep throws have not been as sharp lately and he has shied away from some contact after taking a big hit to his shoulder during a 39-0 shutout of Fresno State on Sept. 4.
When asked about his quarterback on Tuesday, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley quickly replied that Maiava is not injured.
“Jayden has been pretty healthy,” Riley said. “They’ve kept him upright all season long.”
Maiava has adapted to shifting receiving options, calling it a learning experience as he connects with new pass catchers. USC freshman Trent Mosley was an early breakout star, but Maiava has had to look to others with Mosley out the past two games because of injury.
“I’ve been trusting myself, trusting the plan and trusting those guys on the perimeter,” Maiava said
He credits co-offensive coordinator Dennis Simmons for having his receivers ready whenever their names are called.
“It’s the next-man up mentality and we are all going to do the same thing,“ Maiava said.
A key building block
USC coach Lincoln Riley watches from the sideline during the fourth quarter of a win over Washington at the Coliseum on Oct. 3.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
As USC chases the program’s first win over Penn State in Happy Valley, Riley said he expects the Trojans to draw on the resilience they showed against Washington.
He called the rally for a victory over the Huskies a potential turning point for a program that can’t afford another loss if it hopes to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time during Riley’s tenure.
“It wouldn’t shock me if six to eight weeks down the road you’re going to look back at us and see that’s the game that was critical in the season,” Riley said of the Washington win. “Those are important. It helps develop the personality of your team. Most importantly, the biggest thing it shows is the brotherhood within our locker room right now.”
Supporting the defense
USC cornerbacks Chasen Johnson and Prophet Brown break up a pass intended for Washington receiver Dezmen Roebuck in the end zone to secure the Trojans’ win at the Coliseum on Oct. 3.
“[Patterson] is one of the best coaches of our generation. One of the best defensive minds in college football history,” Riley said, backing up his coordinator when asked about his progress.
Riley, however, did not defend poor tackling on Washington’s final touchdown drive that put the Trojans on the brink of a loss.
When asked whether the mistakes were addressed with the players, Riley responded, “Oh yeah. … It was a bad play. Not near our standard.”
He later added, “I bet we don’t see it again.”
While the Huskies’ scoring drive exposed some problems, the defense held its ground late in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Stephens served a one-game suspension for a late hit to the head on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and his behavior celebrating as Moore was being treated by medical staff before leaving the Coliseum in an ambulance.
USC released an apology from Stephens a day after the game. Riley was asked Tuesday whether Stephens would get his starting job back after Robinson’s strong play. While he didn’t specifically address the starting role, Riley did suggest Robinson earned more snaps.
“It was an opportunity for some other guys to step up and they did. … When you see guys that are there for that opportunity and rise to the occasion, it’s going to create more opportunities for some of those guys, there’s no question about it,” he said. “But Des is a good player and an important part of this football team. We view this a lot like just we’re coming back off any normal football game, like nothing else happened. … I think what we learned this week is we have a handful of guys who can go out there and play really, really well. … We look at it as a positive.”
Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where I, like many of you, can’t help but wonder: What’s going on with Jayden Maiava?
As USC’s quarterback kneeled out the final seconds of an unsatisfying win over Washington on Saturday, he didn’t waste any time celebrating on the field. Maiava spotted an NBC camera trained on him, turned toward the Coliseum tunnel and took off.
The camera followed Maiava and caught USC sports information director Katie Ryan sprinting to reach him. But even after Ryan caught up to the quarterback, Maiava barely broke his stride. He just kept running, the first one up the tunnel, while his Trojan teammates remained on the field.
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It was a strange moment, after a game of strange moments for Maiava. And it certainly was not the sort of body language you want to see from your starting quarterback and team leader. Let alone after a win.
It didn’t get much better afterward, when USC trotted him out for the team’s postgame news conference. Maiava was asked about not being able to get into a rhythm. And he proceeded to answer a question that seemingly wasn’t asked.
“Just being able to trust it, fall back on routine plays,” Maiava said.
That’s not new for Maiava, who has often avoided any questions that he doesn’t want to answer by using a non sequitur football cliche. That’s his right. He’s not obligated to play ball with reporters.
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava jogs off the field without pausing for an NBC interview after the Trojans’ win over Washington at the Coliseum on Saturday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
But USC has trumpeted Maiava’s progress as a vocal leader for more than a year now. And as the quarterback, he is naturally a representation of the program’s leadership and its larger culture. Which is what makes the body language of the past two weeks, as USC’s season feels on the brink, particularly concerning. Especially in context with what we’ve seen on the field.
The truth is Maiava hasn’t really looked the same since the shutout of Fresno State on Sept. 4, when he appeared to hurt his right shoulder. Maiava was asked about it the following weeks, but he said that he was “great.”
“It’s a physical game,” Maiava said. “It’s what happens.”
No one has mentioned the injury since, but Maiava has been markedly less accurate in the ensuing four games. He’s completing 60% of his passes over that time, after the first two games had him closer to 90%. Maiava’s mechanics have looked far less consistent over that stretch. And then there were the moments Saturday in which Maiava appeared tentative, like he might actually be shying away from running the ball.
During USC’s opening drive, Maiava scrambled away from pressure and had a chance to take off upfield and potentially pick up the first down with his legs. But instead he sprinted wider toward the sideline, in search of receivers who weren’t there in the corner of the end zone. He ended up getting sacked.
A couple possessions later, Maiava launched a prayer down the field off his back foot. It was intercepted and the quarterback threw his hands, fully aware the turnover was his fault.
USC’s problems certainly can’t be laid at Maiava’s feet. The quarterback has been pretty good this season by normal statistical standards. He’s ninth in the nation in passing yards per game (290) and third in total passing touchdowns (15)
But our eyes also don’t deceive us. Maybe he is hurt. Regardless, in order to actually save their season, the Trojans need Maiava to be more than just a passable Big Ten quarterback. They need him to put the team on his back.
Riley said earlier this season that Maiava has come further than any other passer he’s mentored as a college coach. But midway through his third season at USC, it’s this last step in his development that seems to be most troubling Maiava.
Patterson in the press box
USC defensive coordinator Gary Patterson walked onto the field before the Trojans played Oregon at the Coliseum on Sept. 26.
The results at least seemed palpable on Saturday. The defense was much more dialed in on third down, holding the Huskies to just a single conversion on 12 attempts. And the secondary seemed to iron out most of its communication problems.
Whether that can be attributed to Patterson being the one in the booth is impossible for me to say. The bigger question, as I see it, is why there was such a disconnect between Patterson, his scheme and the rest of the staff. Riley seemed to suggest that the way Patterson wanted to do things wasn’t clicking with the rest of the operation.
“Going through some of these first few games, seeing the makeup of the staff, it was a conversation that he and I had on Sunday,” Riley said after USC’s win over Washington. “We thought there were some reasons just kind of in our operation that made sense. He knows this defense obviously better than anyone. He was used to having, I think, a staff at TCU — if you look at his staff there, for years and years, they had little to no turnover, right? So when you had guys who had been coaching with you for 15-20 years, like he had in a lot of ways, you might handle that different. He had a heck of a defensive staff, and it’s kind of like players, right? You’re trying to just move the chess pieces to get everyone in the right position to get the best out of them.”
House of Troy ‘Chapter 3: A New Era’ episode drops this week
Ask most people from within the Trojan family when things started to unravel for USC’s football program, and they’ll inevitably point to the Reggie Bush-related NCAA sanctions as an obvious starting place.
Well, what if I told you that the mess that USC would find itself wrapped up in could’ve been so easily avoided?
At least, that’s the opinion of the key former members of New Era Sports & Entertainment, the failed sports agency that said it paid Bush and his family. Bush continues to deny allegations he violated NCAA rules. What could’ve presumably ended with one calm conversation in 2006 ended up snowballing into a yearslong saga that didn’t just upend USC football, it derailed the lives of everyone involved.
— USC’s pass rush finally played to its potential. The Trojans tallied 25 (!) pressures against Washington and sacked Demond Williams Jr. five times, which was more than its previous three games combined. The most important of those sacks came on the final drive, as Kameryn Crawford dropped Williams on a critical third down, deep in USC’s own territory. Freshman Luke Wafle also got his first college sack, after being close basically 10 other times, and he seemed relieved by that. He wasn’t the only one relieved by the pass rush production. The Trojans’ maligned secondary, in particular, was a major beneficiary.
— Rampant penalties may just be a part of this team’s identity. USC committed nine penalties against Washington and lost 94 yards, but the numbers alone didn’t tell the whole story. Half of those penalties were pretty consequential. An illegal formation call brought back a USC passing touchdown, then a face mask from Wafle kept the ensuing Washington drive moving. The Huskies ended up scoring a go-ahead touchdown. USC has at least eight penalties in three of its past four games.
— Should Desman Stephens II keep his starting job when he returns? Not because of what happened against Oregon, but because of what happened against Washington. I thought his replacement, Ta’Mere Robinson, played the best game of any linebacker at USC this season. Robinson had six defensive stops, twice as many as any other Trojan defender on Saturday. He added a sack and graded quite well in coverage by Pro Football Focus. It’s not like Stephens was playing all that well before his suspension. USC also got a strong showing from reserve linebacker Elijah Newby.
— Alex Graham is clearly essential to USC’s secondary. The Trojans’ Swiss Army knife defensive back returned from injury Saturday and made a marked difference for the whole unit. Graham had four pressures as a blitzer and has looked absolutely lethal in that role. And he played a huge part in taking away Washington’s short-area passing game, which can be dangerous if Williams is able to get loose. There’s no player more valuable on the back end of USC’s defense.
This week … in 2006
USC’s Brian Cushing blocks Sean Douglas’ punt during the Trojans’ win over Washington on Oct. 7, 2006.
(Matt Sayles / Associated Press)
For the second straight week, USC’s defense was backed up deep into its own territory in the final seconds, in danger of losing to a lesser Pac-10 team.
Washington had gotten the ball back with 1:34 remaining, trailing the Trojans, 26-20, when Husky quarterback Isaiah Stanback proceeded to march down the field on USC’s defense. Stanback scrambled to convert a fourth down with 18 seconds remaining, then completed a 19-yard pass to the USC 15.
But with two seconds left, Washington couldn’t get set in time to spike the ball. The clock ran out on their comeback attempt.
The whole experience gave linebacker Brian Cushing flashbacks of USC’s loss to Texas at the Rose Bowl.
“That last minute just got a little nerve-racking,” Cushing said.
Olympic sports spotlight
USC’s men’s water polo team was down 12-11 to California when the Trojans collected the ball with five seconds remaining in their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener. Somehow, they managed to win the game from there.
It started with an exclusion. Then a goal with a single tick left on the clock, sending the game to overtime.
It went to a second overtime and USC eventually put away the game 15-14 with a golden goal from Strahinja Krstic. A scintillating start to conference play.
Polling the people
Newsletter editor and poll manager Houston Mitchell is out this week, so we’re extending our poll one more week. If you have not voted, feel free to weigh in now.
Sienna Miller and Dominic West star in the new HBO series “War.”
(Justin Downing/ Sky / HBO)
I’ve been yearning for a slow-burn HBO drama since the end of “Industry’s” most recent season, and I’m optimistic that the network appears to have delivered.
“War” has that potential, at least. The first season of what is apparently an anthology series follows a high-stakes divorce case between a tech mogul played by Dominic West and a movie star played by Sienna Miller. And while it doesn’t seem to be breaking any new ground as a legal drama, the writing and acting appears to be on point — as usual with an HBO show of this magnitude.
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
The Corona Centennial High football team has an interesting blend of players spelling their similar first names differently, leaving coach Matt Logan to be the referee as to which parents got the spelling correct.
There’s Jaden Jefferson, Jaden Walk-Green, Jaden Bynum, Jayden Steeber, Jayden Rodriguez and Jaiden Sapp on varsity.
Asked for a comment on what the correct spelling should be, Logan replied, “Which one?”
With six player possibilities, he better be specific as to which Jaden, Jayden or Jaiden he’s trying to alert when shouting the name.
Luckily, Logan isn’t the freshman or JV coach because there’s also Jayden Morales, Jayden Bullard and Jaidon Wilkerson. That’s nine players who qualify to join a club or create a T-shirt: Which first name is spelled correctly?
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
The pass looked doomed the moment it left Jayden Maiava’s hands.
It was third-and-long, midway through the second quarter last November in Eugene, Ore. USC was down just a score, and Maiava, the Trojans’ big-armed quarterback, was trying to make something happen. But the receiver he’d locked in on was unavailable and an Oregon edge rusher was charging at him unchecked. So Maiava let one fly down the middle of the field, and the pass sailed into a crowd of Duck defensive backs.
That regrettable interception, one of two for Maiava that day, ended up being one of the turning points in that game — and in a 2025 season that fell one win short of the College Football Playoff. The loss to Oregon last season served as a rude awakening for USC and Maiava, a reminder of how far both still had to go before reaching their potential.
A year later, as the two Big Ten powers meet again on Saturday, Maiava and the No. 12 Trojans (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) find themselves at another critical mile marker. A win over No. 20 Oregon (2-1, 0-0) would put USC firmly in the conversation for the College Football Playoff. A loss would have folks taking serious stock of where the Trojans stand in their fifth season under coach Lincoln Riley. And at the center of it all is a quarterback who so far seems entirely unfazed by that outside pressure.
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava looks down field to pass against San José State on Aug. 29 at the Coliseum.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
“He’s playing with great confidence,” running back Waymond Jordan said of Maiava. “We’re going to keep seeing him getting better and better and better.”
Ask anyone at USC about Maiava at the moment, and they will invariably say something similar.
“It’s the most confident Jayden I’ve seen in the three years I’ve been around him,” left tackle Elijah Paige said.
Through four games, the numbers certainly suggest he’s on the cusp of a big season. Maiava leads all of college football with 12 touchdown passes and ranks seventh in completion percentage (75.7%). His name is already being floated in early Heisman Trophy conversations.
But Maiava also hasn’t been tested much through four games this season. His protection has been near-perfect, with just a single sack allowed. According to Pro Football Focus, Maiava has been under pressure on a mere 16 dropbacks — or 13% of the time — and, more often than not, that’s because he held the ball too long. Maiava’s average time to throw while under pressure so far this season is nearly four seconds, which, by Big Ten standards, is an eternity.
All of that’s likely to change this week against Oregon. The Ducks are loaded with talent along the defensive line and in the defensive backfield. While they’ve tallied just five sacks through three games, they’ve forced five interceptions, most of any team in the Big Ten. That’s after finishing second in the conference in that category a year ago.
Maiava hasn’t been quite as sharp the last two games after a dynamite start in which he had as many touchdowns (6) as incomplete passes through two weeks. But he knows Oregon will make him pay for any mistakes he makes Saturday, just as it did last season.
“Definitely a lot to learn from that game coming into the next one,” Maiava said. “Definitely turning the ball over, clean that up. Being stingy with the ball, being able to get the ball in playmakers’ hands and just continue to stay on the same page and move as one.”
He’ll almost certainly be without two of his top playmakers against Oregon, with freshman Trent Mosley unlikely to play and sophomore big-play threat Corey Simms already ruled out. Though, so far this season, Maiava has had no problem overcoming the absence of his two top receivers from a year ago, Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane.
USC still has standout freshmen Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and tight end Mark Bowman to pace the passing attack. The offense has also barely made use of two receivers who were expected to be at the top of the depth chart, Tanook Hines and Terrell Anderson, both of whom should play more of a part Saturday.
USC coach Lincoln Riley talks with quarterback Jayden Maiava on the sideline during a game against San José State on Aug. 29 at the Coliseum.
(Kevin Terrell / Getty Images)
“He’s done a really nice job with all the new faces around him, which is hard to do at this position,” Riley said of Maiava.
That’s a testament to his development since 2024, when Maiava arrived at USC with a howitzer arm but little polish to his game as a passer. He’d never gotten any individual training as a quarterback. His mechanics and footwork were especially raw.
After taking over at the end of that 2024 season, though, Maiava has continued to get progressively better. Now Riley views him as “one of the best quarterbacks in the country.”
“Of all the guys I’ve been fortunate enough to coach, I don’t know that I’ve had any that have improved from Day One to this point as much as Jayden has,” said Riley, who has coached three Heisman-winning quarterbacks. “It’s been fun to see him grow as a player and leader, starting to embrace what it means to be the starting quarterback at USC. I think a guy that’s just going to get better and better in his prime to play his best football.”
USC will need him at his best Saturday if it hopes to knock off Oregon, which has its own star quarterback in need of a big moment. Dante Moore could have been one of the top picks in the NFL draft a year ago, but returned to the Ducks, only for them to suffer a stunning loss to Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma State’s coach later acknowledged that Moore was tipping whether Oregon was running or passing on a given play by his pre-snap stance.
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava looks to throw a pass against Rutgers on Sept. 19 in Piscataway, N.J.
(Adam Hunger/Associated Press)
“That was a game and that was a moment that helped mold us,” Moore has said since. “I learned from that, and I’m glad it happened.”
Moore will have the benefit Saturday of facing a struggling USC secondary. The Trojans have yielded 10 yards per pass attempt this season and now could be without starter Alex Graham, who’s listed as questionable. It has been especially difficult for USC to get off the field on third and fourth down, which Riley said has been a central focus this week.
“As a secondary, we’ve got to be a little bit tighter in those situations,” Riley said. “We’ve got to make those competitive plays. We have a good defensive line. We have a group that can rush the passer. We’ve got to make guys hold onto that ball, make our pass rush work, and make those plays when we get to the point of attack.”
Not to mention the Trojans have got a great quarterback, one that Riley expects to lean on his experience as USC faces its biggest test of the season.
“He’s just mentally in a really, really good place to go do that,” Riley said of Maiava. “He’s the guy I want taking us into this game, for sure.”
Fox Sports announcer Tom Brady might have spoken for all of us when viewing the play in which Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
Brady said an expletive on the air, expressing a genuine reaction to the gruesome sight of Daniels’ joint bending in the wrong direction after he planted his left hand to break a fall.
The same expression was no doubt used by countless Commanders fans who had seen their quarterback miss much of the 2025 season with the same injury to the same elbow.
Chicago Bears fans also probably reacted with similar words when star quarterback Caleb Williams was carted off the field with a hamstring injury.
The coaches of both teams had injury updates Monday about the quarterbacks who were selected first (Williams) and second (Daniels) in the 2024 draft. Bears coach Ben Johnson told WMVP in Chicago that Williams appears to have avoided a major injury but would “likely miss some time.”
Hours later, however, Johnson told reporters he wasn’t yet ruling out Williams for the Bears’ “Monday Night Football” game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He said Williams underwent an MRI scan on Monday and that the team received news that was “somewhat encouraging.”
“He’s right now working through every avenue that he’s got available to get back on track here,” said Johnson, who added that Williams probably would not practice this week. “We’ll see what that looks like. Here’s what I know: This guy’s a little bit different than the average human being. … He gets back, he has in the past, a lot faster than what people can anticipate. I’m not putting a timeline on this. We’re going to say week to week.”
Commanders coach Dan Quinn told reporters that Daniels underwent imaging that morning and would see specialists the following two days.
“We’ll go through the process from there,” Quinn said. “I know you’ll have some questions regarding timelines, but until we go through that process, I’d be guessing to give you any.”
Quinn did say that veteran backup Marcus Mariota would start Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks and that he might have an update on Daniels on Thursday or Friday.
Williams, after going 5-12 as a rookie, threw for a franchise-record 3,942 yards while leading the Bears to an 11-6 record and the NFC North title. He got hurt during Chicago’s 9-3 loss Sunday while scrambling deep in Minnesota Vikings territory midway through the fourth quarter.
Williams was replaced by Tyson Bagent, a fourth-year player who has appeared in 13 games and is 2-2 as a starter. Johnson told reporters Monday that he was confident in Bagent should he have to start any games in Williams’ place.
“If it goes that route, I feel strongly about what he’s capable of, and our team does, too,” Johnson said. “They know he’s a darn good football player.”
Daniels was an immediate star in Washington, leading the Commanders to a surprise appearance in the NFC championship game his rookie season, but he missed all but one game in the second half of last season after dislocating the same elbow Nov. 2 against the Seattle Seahawks.
He injured it Sunday on a play from the Dallas one-yard line with three seconds remaining before halftime. Left guard Chris Paul stepped on Daniels’ foot as he backed away from center and the quarterback threw a wild incomplete pass as he braced himself on the ground with his other hand.
Mariota replaced Williams in the second half and completed 11 of 16 passes for 111 yards with one touchdown.
