Southern California’s start to its Big Ten tenure perhaps hasn’t gone as planned, as the Trojans have lost four of their past five contests.
And now with USC on its second bye week of the season, Lincoln Riley and Co. look to be in search of a late-season spark as they make a change at quarterback.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, USC will now start UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava in its Week 12 game vs. Nebraska. Trojans starter Miller Moss will serve as the backup vs. the Cornhuskers.
Moss, who took over at quarterback this year for USC after Caleb Williams was selected No. 1 overall in the NFL draft to the Chicago Bears, has struggled in recent weeks. Since USC’s upset loss to Minnesota on Oct. 5, Moss has thrown eight interceptions – including three last week vs. Washington.
USC is coming off a Week 10 loss to Washington, during which the Trojans were shut out in the first and fourth quarters and had their bowl game odds take a hit. USC has the No. 6 scoring offense in the Big Ten (30.6 points per game).
Maiava, who transferred from UNLV this past offseason, has seen some playing time this year – all coming late in the game after Riley pulled the starters in blowout wins. Last year at UNLV, the 6-foot-4 quarterback from Paauilo, Hawaii, completed 63.5% of his passes for 3,085 yards and 17 touchdowns.
USC will take on Nebraska on Saturday, Nov. 16 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. With three games remaining on its schedule, including one against No. 8 Notre Dame, USC needs two more wins to become bowl-eligible.