USC’s Jayden Maiava Named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week After Historic Opener

LOS ANGELES, CA — Jayden Maiava wasted no time making his presence felt in USC’s Big Ten debut. The Trojans’ quarterback was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after engineering a historic 73-13 rout of Missouri State on Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The honor marks Maiava’s first weekly award as a Trojan, and it comes on the heels of a blistering first-half performance. The sophomore signal-caller completed 15 of 18 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for a score. He accounted for more than 300 yards of total offense — all in just two quarters of action before being lifted with the game in hand.

Historic First-Half Numbers

Maiava’s 295 passing yards were the most by a USC quarterback in a first half since Kedon Slovis torched Arizona State for 347 yards in 2019. His total also matched Cody Kessler’s 295 first-half yards against ASU in 2015. For perspective, it was just eight yards shy of his second-best outing from last season.

The Trojans put up 42 first-half points, their most in an opening half since scoring 49 against Stanford in 2023. By night’s end, USC’s 73 total points marked the program’s highest scoring output since a 74-0 win over Cal in 1930, and their most in a season opener since a 76-0 thrashing of UCLA in 1929.

By the Numbers

Even after playing just one half, Maiava sits atop the national leaderboards:

• No. 1 in passing efficiency (257.7)
• No. 1 in yards per completion (19.67)
• No. 1 in yards per attempt (16.39)
• No. 5 nationally in completion percentage (.833)

Per Pro Football Focus, Maiava graded out as the top quarterback in the Big Ten and No. 10 among all Power 4 QBs with an 89.7 passing grade and a 90.8 overall offensive grade, while committing zero turnover-worthy plays.

Trojans in Full Flight

The offensive fireworks weren’t limited to Maiava. Nine different Trojans scored touchdowns — the most in a game since records began in 1972. USC’s 10 touchdowns tied a program high dating back to a 2008 blowout of Washington State.

As a team, USC now leads the nation in:

• Completion percentage (.889)
• Scoring offense (73.0 points per game)

The Trojans also rank in the top 10 nationally in total offense (597 yards per game), passing offense (364.0), and third-down efficiency (.857).

What’s Next

The win extended USC’s season-opening win streak to nine, while head coach Lincoln Riley remains unbeaten in season openers as a head coach.

The Trojans (1-0) return to the Coliseum on Saturday, Sept. 6, when they host Georgia Southern at 4:30 p.m. PT.