Jayden Maiava isn’t backing down from the noise around Lincoln Riley.
USC’s senior quarterback stepped straight into the conversation on Oct. 13, pushing back against the wave of criticism aimed at his coach during an appearance on the “Outta Pocket” podcast hosted by former NFL quarterback and past Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III.
The topic was impossible to miss. Riley has taken heat from detractors, including the “Riley should be fired crowd,” and Maiava made it clear that chatter reaches the locker room. Still, he said the Trojans are choosing to channel it in the right direction.
"Yes it does bother us," Maiava admitted. "But we use it as fuel to continue to inspire people that that's not who coach Riley is.
Even if you ate the burger a wrong way, he's still the best coach in the country. Everybody in this building knows and understands who Coach Riley is.
He really truly is the best coach in the country.”
That defense comes with USC sitting at 6-1 and still very much in the thick of the Big Ten title race and the College Football Playoffs picture. The Trojans earned a 31-23 road win over Penn State on Oct. 10, a result that helped turn the momentum after the Sept. 26 loss to Oregon had reignited doubts about Riley’s ability to win the biggest games.
That Oregon defeat - a 41-27 loss - also brought more criticism of USC’s defense, part of a familiar refrain for Riley dating back to his Oklahoma days. But the Trojans have steadied since then, with the two games after that loss turning into tests decided by defensive stops. With Gary Patterson coordinating that side of the ball, USC has given up 21 and 23 points over the last two weeks.
Riley also knows the spotlight has followed his quarterback, especially if Maiava is the one who can push USC back into the national-title conversation and maybe even into the program’s first Big Ten championship. Against Penn State, though, Riley came away impressed by more than just execution.
"I thought he was poised and confident. I also thought he was very locked in with how we wanted to attack them.
And I thought he stayed steady throughout the whole game," Riley said on the Oct. 12 edition of Trojans Live when talking about how Maiava handled the loud atmosphere. "He played like how your senior quarterback is supposed to play."
Riley added more to the praise, saying, "But as far as environment, I thought he handled that very well. He played one of his best games, for certain."
USC now gets a week off from game action before heading back into another tough road setting. The next stop is Camp Randall, where the Trojans will face the Wisconsin Badgers on the road.
In Other News...
Lincoln Riley Sees One USC Issue That Still Needs Fixing
USC came away from its 31-23 win over Penn State with plenty to like, but Lincoln Riley is still treating the running game as a work in progress as the Trojans head toward their next road test at Wisconsin. There were useful stretches on the ground, yet Riley made it clear the offense has room to grow there, even with the confidence the players around that unit have shown in the backs and the offensive line.
The timing could work in USCs favor, with the bye week offering a chance to get healthier and sharpen the parts of the offense that have not yet settled in. For a team trying to build on a big win and carry it into conference play, the ground attack remains one of the cleaner areas to keep watching, especially once the Trojans get back to game speed in Madison. [Read more 🡒]
Lincoln Riley Outsmarted Penn State When USC Needed It Most
With USC clinging to its lead late against Penn State, Lincoln Riley turned to a formation that did more than just keep the offense on the field. The unusual look created enough confusion to force Matt Campbell to burn a timeout on fourth down, a small detail in the moment that carried real weight in a game where every possession felt strained and every decision mattered.
The sequence only got better for USC a short time later when Christian Pierce forced a fumble and the Trojans recovered it, setting up the closing stretch they needed to drain the clock in a 31-23 win. Riley's call was the kind of late-game chess move that can tilt a tight matchup, and on this night it helped USC finish the job when Penn State needed one clean stop and could not get it. [Read more 🡒]
USC Just Put Its Playoff Hopes On The Line Again
USCs win at Penn State has kept the playoff conversation alive, and it is the kind of result that can change the temperature around a program in a hurry. ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis said he still believes the Trojans can push their way into the College Football Playoff picture alongside Ohio State and Indiana, pointing to the difficulty of getting a road win in that environment and the way the Big Ten race is shaping up.
The road ahead is where USCs case gets tested for real. Wisconsin, Ohio State, Indiana, Maryland and UCLA are still on the schedule, and each one carries its own weight as the Trojans try to prove this is more than a one-game surge. In a conference where every week seems to reshape the playoff chase, USC has given itself a seat at the table, but the next stretch will decide whether it stays there. [Read more 🡒]