We are just a few days away from Big Ten Media Days kicking off in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans will be in attendance.
While most of the offseason has been focused on the monumental 2026 class that the Trojans have built, it is now time to turn focus to the 2025 season and the current roster at hand.
Perhaps the most important player on the roster is QB Jayden Maiava. While the Trojans have done a lot to build up the defense and add pieces around Maiava, the team will likely go as far as their signal caller will lead them.
While I think highly of the 3rd year player, and believe he will have a true breakout season, the expectations around the country seem to be a bit lower.
When looking at different rankings that have dropped, most list Maiava somewhere around 6th or 7th in the Big Ten. However, a new ranking just dropped, and the disrespect to Maiava is real.
USC Trojans QB Jayden Maiava Falls Out Of The Top 10
Andy Staples of On3 just dropped his most recent Big Ten Quarterback Rankings, and clearly, he does not hold the USC Trojans signal caller in high regard as he left him out of the Top 10 QBs in the conference.
His Top 10 is as follows:
- Drew Allar, Penn State
- Luke Altmyer, Illinois
- Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
- Nico Iamaleava, UCLA
- Dante Moore, Oregon
- Dylan Raiola, Nebraska
- Julian Sayin, Ohio State
- Bryce Underwood, Michigan
- Demond Williams Jr., Washington
- Mark Gronowski, Iowa
Pretty shocking, right?
Maiava’s first 4 games for the Trojans were a bit of a mixed bag in terms of momentum-shifting plays. He did, however, go 3-1, beating Nebraska (Raiola), UCLA, and Texas A&M.
The question all Trojans fans are asking is what version of Maiava will we see this season? Will it be the first half against the Aggies Maiava where he threw three careless interceptions and dug the Trojans into a big hole? Or will it be the 2nd half Maiava, where he threw four touchdowns and led the Trojans to a dramatic walk-off victory?
This is a fair question, and one that will need to be answered early in the season if Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans hope to make a playoff push.
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However, based on what we have seen out of his play so far, and based on him playing as a true freshman at UNLV and winning the Mountain West Freshman of the Year award, Maiava is clearly one of the Top 10 QBs in the Big Ten.
I have spoken about this before on the USC LAFB Show, but I simply cannot rank players who have zero playing experience ahead of someone who has played quite a few meaningful games. So that would take Julian Sayin and Bryce Underwood out of the rankings for me.
I am also not sure what Dante Moore has shown since sitting out a year after a disastrous freshman season at UCLA that would warrant a ranking as the 5th best QB, but that is just me.
My Top 5 would be this:
- Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
- Drew Allar, Penn State
- Jayden Maiava, USC Trojans
- Luke Altmyer, Illinois
- Nico Iamaleava, UCLA
Andy Staples has a little bit of a history of bagging on USC, so this is not extremely shocking. However, it does display further proof that the USC Trojans have an opportunity to surprise a lot of people this season.
Will they? Let us know your thoughts and comment below!