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Jayden Maiava accounts for 3 touchdowns, leads USC to Week 0 win over San Jose State
By Mark Kern
Published:
Jayden Maiava and USC entered the 2026 season as contenders to make the College Football Playoff, with the quarterback being a huge reason why. The Trojans got off to a fast start, beating San Jose State 42-26 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score suggested.
Maiava is a sleeper in the Heisman Trophy race, and he showed why by finishing 25-of-29 for 286 yards and 2 touchdowns, while adding another score on the ground. He completed 86% of his passes, which is the highest percentage for a USC quarterback in over 30 years.
Maiava did a very good job of distributing the ball to all of his receivers, as six Trojans had at least t3 catches. Leading the way was Trent Mosley, who finished with 7 catches for 118 yards and 1 touchdown.
USC was in complete control of this game from the very beginning, as they took a 35-3 lead into the 4th quarter before the Spartans scored some points late to make the score look closer.
Lincoln Riley is entering a huge season during his tenure as the coach, and this may be his best team yet. They brought in an elite recruiting class, and if the defense is able to show improvement, they could absolutely make it to the CFP.
