USC quarterback Jayden Maiava picked up national recognition Wednesday, earning Associated Press National Player of the Week honors after his performance in the Trojans’ win over San Jose State.
Maiava, a fifth-year senior, was sharp from start to finish. He went 25 of 29 for 286 yards, threw two touchdown passes and added a rushing touchdown in the victory.
After the game, Maiava pointed to patience and decision-making as the areas he wants to keep sharpening. "I think there's a lot of room for me to stay patient as well as a quarterback," he said Tuesday about his play in the game, "and just continue making the right winning-decision plays and getting the ball in the playmaker's hands."
The award adds to a long list of preseason recognition for Maiava. Over the offseason, he was placed on watch lists for the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Player of the Year award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the Wuerffel Trophy, the Davey O'Brien Award, the Manning Award and the Polynesian Player of the Year award. He was also one of 12 players chosen for the Big Ten's preseason honors list and was named a nominee for the AFCA Goodworks Team.
Now the focus shifts quickly. USC faces Fresno State in the Coliseum on Friday at 6 p.m.
PDT on FOX, a shortened-week matchup that brings in a Bulldogs defense led by former USC linebackers coach Matt Entz. Fresno State’s defense finished last season among the nation’s best, allowing 18.8 points per game, 285.7 total yards per game and forcing 26 turnovers.
In Other News...
USC Faces One Huge Question With JuJu Watkins Back
JuJu Watkins is back on the floor for USC after recovering from the ACL injury she sustained in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, and that alone changes the conversation around the Trojans as they head into the new season. Her return gives USC its senior star back, but it also puts a spotlight on how the offense will look now that Watkins is rejoining a backcourt that learned to thrive without her.
Jazzy Davidson made the most of that window, putting together a standout freshman season and collecting multiple national awards along the way. Now the Trojans have two high-usage guards expected to share the court, which makes their fit one of the biggest questions on campus: how much the ball is in each players hands, how their styles complement each other, and whether USC can make both stars fully effective at the same time. [Read more 🡒]
Former USC Staffer Brings A Real Coliseum Test For The Trojans
Matt Entz has reason to feel good about where Fresno State stands as it heads into the kind of game that can tell you plenty about a program. The head coach, who once worked in the USC orbit, has pointed to a roster built around experience, with 14 of 15 starters back, and he has not been shy about framing his team as a legitimate Group of Six College Football Playoff contender if it can keep that core together.
The challenge, of course, is whether that confidence holds up once the Bulldogs are inside the Coliseum. Entz has also acknowledged the modern reality of roster building, where keeping players in place can be difficult when bigger money and bigger stages are available elsewhere, and this trip to USC gives him and his team a real measuring stick for how far that vision has come. For the Trojans, it is a familiar brand name across the sideline, but also a chance to see whether a veteran Fresno State group can turn that experience into something more than talk. [Read more 🡒]
USCs Opener Put A Young Trojan At The Center Of Attention
USCs 42-26 win over San Jose State in the season opener had plenty to unpack on offense, but one of the quieter subplots was how quickly Trent Mosley became impossible to ignore. Pro Football Focus individual grades painted a picture of a Trojans attack that had multiple contributors at the Coliseum, with quarterback Jayden Maiava among the players reviewed in detail, but Mosley landed at the top of the board.
The 90.7 grade attached to Mosley stands out not just because it was the highest mark on the offense, but because it came in a game where USC had enough production to spread the spotlight around. For a young Trojan, that kind of opening-night attention is often the first sign of a role expanding, and it gives the coaching staff something useful to sort through as the season starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]