USC’s Jayden Maiava Named AP National Player of the Week

LOS ANGELES — Jayden Maiava opened his second full season as USC’s starter the way Lincoln Riley’s offense is built to look: precise, vertical, and in control. On Monday, the Associated Press made it official, naming the Trojans quarterback the national college football player of the week for Week 0.

Maiava completed 25 of 29 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns in No. 14 USC’s 42-26 win over San José State on Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. He added a 1-yard rushing score on the opening drive and finished with three total touchdowns and no interceptions as the Trojans built a 35-3 lead before the fourth quarter.

The efficiency was the story. Maiava averaged 9.8 yards per attempt against the Spartans and is tied with Matt Leinart for No. 2 in USC career yards per attempt at 8.6. He completed 86.2 percent of his throws, posted a 191.8 passer rating, and spread the ball to 10 different receivers.

Much of that production ran through freshman Trent Mosley. The Santa Margarita product caught seven of Maiava’s nine targets for 118 yards and a 14-yard touchdown in his first college game, adding 52 yards after the catch. Fellow freshman Kayden Dixon-Wyatt hauled in a 9-yard scoring slant for his first career touchdown. King Miller, Riley Wormley, and Shahn Alston all found the end zone on the ground as USC piled up 505 total yards.

Maiava capped a 13-play, 77-yard opening drive with his rushing score, then hit Dixon-Wyatt late in the second quarter and Mosley in the third after San José State finally got on the board with a field goal. The Trojans led 28-0 at halftime.

Virginia quarterback Beau Pribula was the AP runner-up after rushing for a career-high 110 yards and throwing two touchdown passes in a 34-8 win over North Carolina State.

The honor is the latest in a growing list for the former UNLV transfer. Last season Maiava started all 13 games, completed 265 of 403 passes (65.8 percent) for 3,711 yards and 24 touchdowns against 10 interceptions, and added 157 rushing yards and six scores. His 91.2 QBR led the nation. He earned All-Big Ten Third Team honors from the coaches, Phil Steele, and the Pro Football Sports Network, was a Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award finalist, a Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist, and a two-time Davey O’Brien Great 8 recipient.

He entered 2026 already on the Maxwell, Walter Camp, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm, Davey O’Brien, and Manning Award watch lists, and was one of just 12 players named to the Big Ten’s preseason honors list.

The Trojans (1-0) return to the Coliseum on Friday, Sept. 4, against Fresno State.