Jayden Maiava passed for 259 yards, threw three touchdown passes, and ran for another score in his first start for Southern California, leading the Trojans to a 28-20 win over Nebraska on Saturday.
Woody Marks ran for 146 yards for USC (5-5, 3-5 Big Ten), and Maiava finished his impressive debut by running for a 2-yard touchdown with 2:45 remaining. Maiava, a transfer from UNLV, stepped in as the starting quarterback for Miller Moss as the Trojans continue their push for bowl eligibility in a season that has been disappointing under coach Lincoln Riley.
“It was a lot of fun, for sure,” said Maiava, who completed 25 of 35 passes and overcame two turnovers. “It’s definitely a big difference from sitting on the sideline to playing between the white lines.”
Zachariah Branch, Kyron Hudson, and Duce Robinson each caught a touchdown pass from Maiava, marking USC’s second win in the last six games. The Trojans have never lost to Nebraska in their rare matchups, improving to 5-0-1 against the Huskers.
Nebraska drove to the USC 14-yard line with just 5 seconds left, but a false start penalty pushed them back, and Greedy Vance intercepted Raiola’s final pass in the end zone to seal the win for the Trojans.
“We made some mistakes where we had some opportunities to separate, but I was just super-proud right at the very end,” said Riley. “The last drive offensively, and then closing the door defensively there at the end was just tremendous.”
Nebraska (5-5, 2-5) lost its fourth straight game, with quarterback Dylan Raiola passing for 191 yards and connecting with Emmett Johnson for a 29-yard touchdown in the first half. The Huskers have now lost eight consecutive games in which they could have become bowl-eligible under second-year head coach Matt Rhule, including seven one-score losses.
“A lot of things we did well,” said Rhule. “You take away maybe one play here, one play there, but that’s football. That’s the new Big Ten, as I told our guys. This isn’t like the old Big Ten West, 17-13 (final scores). You come out to USC, they’ve got great players. You’re going to have to make a lot of plays.”
Nebraska’s Ceyair Wright, a former USC player, made an early impact by returning an interception 45 yards for a touchdown. He also blocked a field goal attempt in the fourth quarter.
However, the Huskers’ offense only reached the end zone once, under the direction of new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, and managed just 254 total yards before their final, desperate drive. Raiola has thrown seven interceptions in his last four games, including two against USC.
Maiava had a shaky start, going just 2-of-7 on the Trojans’ first two drives and throwing a pick-six to Wright. “That’s just me being me,” Maiava said of his aggressive mistake. “Obviously it’s rough, but I’m glad that it happened to me, just so it happened for the future.”
After that early mistake, Maiava bounced back, completing his next nine passes. He connected with Branch for a 6-yard touchdown on USC’s third drive, then hit Hudson for a 12-yard score. In the second half, he threw a perfect pass to Robinson for a 48-yard touchdown.
Maiava later lost a fumble on a scramble, leading to a field goal for Nebraska, but he stayed calm. After Wright blocked USC’s 27-yard field goal attempt with 12:58 remaining, the Huskers still trailed by just one point. However, Nebraska couldn’t score, and Marks ran 43 yards on a fourth-down play, setting up Maiava’s touchdown run to seal the victory.
