The USC Trojans didn’t play during Week 11 due to a bye week, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t gearing up for the road ahead.

The Tuesday after USC’s (4-5, 2-5 Big Ten) loss to Washington (5-5, 3-4), Head Coach Lincoln Riley announced that redshirt sophomore quarterback Jayden Maiava would replace redshirt junior quarterback Miller Moss under center going forward. The change stemmed from the Trojans losing four of their last five games with Moss running the offense.

When he takes the opening snap on Saturday, Maiava will become the first Polynesian quarterback to start a game for USC.

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Maiava has proven potential, as he transferred to USC from UNLV after winning Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2023 — throwing for 3,085 yards and 17 touchdowns. But Maiava’s ceiling is still untapped, given that he’s ridden the bench for almost the entire season in 2024.

The Hawai‘i native attempted 11 passes at the end of the Trojans’ win over Utah State University (2-7, 1-3 Mountain West) in Week 2 and had sparse rushing attempts in other games. Other than that, he has been stuck watching as USC’s season has gone increasingly awry.

“I’ve made huge strides, I ask a lot of questions,” Maiava said after practice Tuesday. “It’s just really up to me to go execute [the coaching staff’s] plan.”

Maiava should be able to bring a different energy to USC’s offensive approach. Unlike Moss, he doesn’t hesitate to take off from the pocket and run the ball. And with a cannon for an arm, Maiava will likely aim to push the ball downfield consistently and confidently — something the Trojans have struggled to do consistently this season.

Moss also failed to close out numerous close games down the stretch, with the Washington loss representing the final straw for Riley and the coaching staff. In his fourth year at USC — but first as a starter — Moss had his chance to live out his childhood dream for nine games, but couldn’t deliver when it mattered most.

Leading the Trojans’ productive passing offense — ranked No. 13 in the country — proved Moss’ statistical soundness, but when push came to shove, interceptions and late blunders defined his season.

Maiava’s promotion will be an adjustment for the team at large, but especially the receivers. His limited playing time earlier this season came late in games after the entire starting offense was pulled, so he has not been able to develop chemistry with the Trojans’ key skill players.

“[Maiava] has always been a good leader. I think he’s had to really grow upon that role since taking control of this offense,” said sophomore wide receiver Duce Robinson. “The best way to describe him is just a playmaker.”

Sophomore wide receiver Zachariah Branch notched his best performance of the season against the Huskies with 102 yards, including several big-time plays. Coming off a solid performance but also still vying for his first touchdown of the year, Branch, in particular, should be the focal point for improvement under Maiava’s leadership.

The quarterback change wasn’t USC’s only top headline that surfaced during its time off. On Tuesday, the Trojans were placed on one-year probation and fined $50,000 as the NCAA announced that the team violated on- and off-field coaching activity rules during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

Riley won’t be suspended, but if his future with the Trojans wasn’t in question before, it might be now. The news only adds to the turmoil generated under his watch this season, which is increasingly stacking up.

“We’ve had that behind us now for multiple months,” Riley said. “I’d love to be able to discuss
more and go into that, but we’ve got way more important things than that right now.”

But even with off-field issues, the show must go on. Nebraska (5-4, 2-3 Big Ten), like USC, is coming off a bye week after losing to UCLA (4-5, 3-4) on Nov. 2. The Cornhuskers can relate to the Trojans — also starting the year strongly before faltering against ranked opponents.

Nebraska has lost its last three games, prompting a change at offensive coordinator. Head Coach Matt Rhule elevated Dana Holgorsen to manage the offense, stepping into Marcus Satterfield’s former role.

Standout freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola suffered a back injury against the Bruins and will hope to make his debut in Holgorsen’s system against USC. The Cornhuskers haven’t reached 20 points in a game since September, so they’ll hope for an offensive resurgence against the Trojans.

The Trojans revealed 1972-inspired throwback uniforms they will sport in the homecoming game Saturday, featuring a different striping pattern and number font than they typically wear.

USC must win two of its three final games to become bowl-eligible. With Nebraska, UCLA and No. 8 Notre Dame (8-1) remaining on the schedule, along with the unpredictable Maiava stepping in, winning out to match last season’s record will be difficult for the Trojans. Notably, USC won’t leave Southern California for the rest of the season, so Riley will hope the lack of travel will help his team finish strong.

“We want to go play good and win,” Riley said. “We want to put it all together, go play a complete game and play really complimentary football.”

USC’s battle with the Cornhuskers, its second-to-last Big Ten clash, will commence Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.