With the USC Trojans entering the week with a 4-5 record and needing to win two of their final three games to qualify for a bowl game, head coach Lincoln Riley made a big decision on Tuesday.
Junior quarterback Miller Moss will be benched in favor of sophomore quarterback Jayden Maiava.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported the change Tuesday morning, and Riley addressed the decision during Tuesday afternoon’s media availability.
“I said I was gonna make decisions based on what was best for the team to win. Nothing’s changed. We go back and evaluate like we do every single game. We have two good players in the room, and when we went back and looked at it we felt like it was in the best interest of the team to give Jayden a chance here. It’s that simple,” Riley said.
The head coach added that sometimes if you’re struggling, a quarterback switch is more about the team itself than the actual quarterback.
“Listen, I’ve been through enough of these with QBs. I know the QBs at any program, especially one like this, are a lightning rod. We’ve made a lot of other changes at other positions throughout this trying to find our best lineups and have the best possible lineup to help us go win that aren’t going to get the attention and publicity, and I get it. It’s part of football, but there was nothing more to this decision than that.”
Maiava transferred to USC over the offseason after a strong freshman season with the UNLV Rebels, during which he went 224-for-353 for 3,085 yards and 17 touchdowns, with ten interceptions.
Moss and Maiava competed for the starting job during summer camp, with Moss winning going into the season. In nine games, Moss went 233-for-362 with 2,555 passing yards and 18 touchdown passes to nine interceptions.
The Trojans return to action on November 16 when they host the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
