Two of the best quarterbacks in college football meet Saturday when No. 12 USC plays host to No. 20 Oregon at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. At one point this was considered a showcase of the top two of the nation's top QB prospects, and it has quickly become a crucial game for two quarterbacks trying to build their NFL Draft profiles. Both USC quarterback Jayden Maiava and Oregon quarterback Dante Moore are projected to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft picks by CBS Sports NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson, but Maiava's path is more complicated.
The pair of talented quarterbacks could elevate their cases significantly with a good showing Saturday. When these two quarterbacks met last season, Oregon outlasted USC 42-27 in Eugene. The dynamics will be much different this time around as both programs face a pivotal early season moment.
The comparison below illustrates both their production and efficiency at a glance: Moore has remained a relatively efficient player during his return to college football, completing more than 68% of his passes and throwing nine touchdowns with zero interceptions. However, Maiava has been substantially more explosive and effective during a light early schedule. While playing in Lincoln Riley's offense, Maiava has established himself as a quarterback to watch.
He leads the nation with 12 touchdown passes and has hit at least 260 yards and two touchdowns in every game this season. Maiava was a relatively unheralded recruit with a strong debut 2023 season under his belt at UNLV when he decided to test his luck in the transfer portal. There was little guarantee that he would ever start after joining a program with Miller Moss owning two years of eligibility and Husan Longstreet in the pipeline.
Jayden Maiava has HIGH confidence in his head coach Lincoln Riley 😤 @uscfb pic.twitter.com/uMlgSVQE64 Instead, after transferring to USC, Maiava played a great deal as a sophomore and stepped into the full-time starting role as a junior. Riley does an exceptional job with transfer quarterbacks, and Maiava has emerged as a special one. The Hawaii native threw for 3,711 yards and 24 touchdowns last season.
This year, it's the touchdown rate that's taken the Big Ten by storm. Maiava is throwing for touchdowns on 10.4% of pass attempts, a significant improvement from 6.0% last season. It took time to pare down the new top receivers with star freshman Trent Mosley out of the lineup, but Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and Corey Simms took over late.
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