USC quarterback Jayden Maiava is starting to get the national respect his 2025 season demanded.
That recognition showed up in a recent ranking from Blake Brockermeyer, who placed Maiava No. 11 on his list of the top 150 players in college football for 2026. It’s a notable jump in status for the Trojans’ starter, and it lines up with the numbers he put up last season.
Maiava led the Big Ten in passing yards while throwing for more than 3,700 yards and 24 touchdowns in his first full season as USC’s starter. Those are the kind of stats that force people to take a second look, and Brockermeyer made it clear why Maiava landed so high on the list.
“Maiava took a major step forward in his first full season as USC 's starter, throwing for more than 3,700 yards and 24 touchdowns while leading the Big Ten in passing yards. He has the arm talent to attack every inch of the field, processes quickly, and delivers layered throws with touch. If the Trojans continue to improve around him, don't be surprised if Maiava becomes one of the biggest risers in college football this season.
The buzz around Maiava is building, but the source material makes one thing clear: he still isn’t getting as much credit as he should. With his production and the tools he brings, he enters the upcoming season with a real case to be viewed as one of the best quarterbacks in the country and a Heisman finalist.
In Other News...
USC-UCLA Has One Tradition College Football Should Stop Copying
When Alabama and Tennessee announced they would both wear their home uniforms for their meeting this season, it stirred up an old college football debate: whether more rivalries should embrace the look that has long defined USC and UCLA. In Los Angeles, the setup works because it is tied to one specific game, one specific feel and one of the sports most recognizable visual traditions, with the Trojans cardinal and the Bruins blue playing off each other in a way that instantly says something about the rivalry itself.
But making double-home uniforms a routine habit across college football would risk turning a special wrinkle into a gimmick. The NFL learned as much during its Color Rush experiment, where color-on-color matchups sometimes looked fresh and sometimes just looked awkward, and thats the caution here for USC fans who know the rivalrys aesthetic is part of the event. What makes USC-UCLA stand out is that it is not everywhere, and college football is usually better when it leaves a few traditions alone. [Read more 🡒]
Why USC Fans Still Treat One Enemy Different Than Everyone Else
For USC fans, the old grievances still have a way of dwarfing the modern rivalry map. ESPNs recent list of arch-enemies for power conference programs put the NCAA at the top of the Trojans board instead of a fellow school, a nod to how deeply the sanctions from the Reggie Bush investigation still linger in the fan bases memory. The punishment tied to improper benefits never faded into simple history around here; it became part of how USC supporters tell the story of what the program lost and who they blame for it.
The resentment is sharpened by the feeling that college footballs enforcement has never looked even-handed. USCs punishment remains a touchstone in debates over fairness because the NCAAs handling of violations has often seemed inconsistent, and Penn States less severe sanction for far more serious infractions is still a painful comparison for Trojan fans. So while rivalries usually come with a school, a mascot or a border war, USCs most personal beef remains institutional, and it is not hard to see why that edge has never really gone away. [Read more 🡒]
USC Secondary Hype Around Jontez Williams Comes With One Big Catch
Jontez Williams arrives at USC with the kind of rsum that naturally gets people talking. The Iowa State transfer was an All-Big 12 Second Team selection in 2024, and his reputation as a disruptive defensive back has already made him one of the more intriguing pieces in the Trojans secondary heading into the upcoming season. An analyst even slotted him 145th among college football players, which says plenty about the respect he carries and the level of expectation surrounding him in Los Angeles.
For USC, the appeal is obvious: Williams is expected to play a significant role right away in a unit that needs difference-makers. The catch is just as obvious, though no less important. His value to the Trojans hinges on health, and that makes his availability one of the quieter but more consequential storylines as USC tries to stabilize its defense and turn a promising addition into a real asset. [Read more 🡒]