Jayden Maiava conquers Las Vegas Bowl by leading record-setting comeback for USC

Jayden Maiava took a few hits while playing during the Las Vegas Bowl, but the most contact the USC sophomore quarterback might have absorbed all night came on his own sideline.

Teammates and coaches greeted the local product/Liberty High graduate with a sea of hugs, helmet taps and back slaps as he came off the field for the final time with nine seconds remaining in the Trojans’ game against Texas A&M.   

Maiava had just helped guide USC to an improbable comeback, hitting Kyle Ford on a six-yard slant pass for a game-winning score in a 35-31 victory.

“He stayed with it and that’s what you’ve got to do," USC coach Lincoln Riley said of Maiava. "You’re not always going to have your A-game when you play a defense as good as Texas A&M. He showed the heart of a champion in sticking with it.”

The former UNLV quarterback’s homecoming had a storybook ending.

Maiava finished with 295 passing yards off completing 22 of 39 pass attempts with four touchdowns and three interceptions.

He led the Trojans on touchdown drives in three of their final four possessions to overcome a 24-7 deficit with five minutes remaining in the third quarter. It was the largest comeback in Las Vegas Bowl history. 

Maiava struggled throughout almost all of the opening two-and-a-half quarters. A three-and-out followed by a batted-down-and-picked pass by Texas A&M edge rusher Cashius Howell inside the 10-yard line to start the second half seemed to seal USC’s fate.

But Maiava kept his composure and leaned heavily on receivers Ja’Kobi Lane, who caught seven passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns, and Makai Lemon, who had six catches for 99 yards.

The Trojans saw a handful of their leading weapons — including Bishop Gorman product/big-play receiver Zachariah Branch —  hit the transfer portal before the Las Vegas Bowl but spoke confidently of Lemon and Lane being able to lead the way.

The duo proved it, as did the senior Ford who hauled in six receptions for 59 yards.

Lane drew Las Vegas Bowl Most Valuable Player honors for setting a receiving-touchdown record.

“We just needed to come together and finish,” Lane said of his mindset in the game. 

His final touchdown came with 4:30 remaining on a crucial 3^rd-and-8. He hesitated before speeding out on a slant and catching a perfect pass over the middle from Maiava to make the score 28-24, USC’s first lead of the game.

Texas A&M then came to life, however, and banked points for the first time in more than 18 minutes of game time. Aggies freshman quarterback Marcel Reed took his team down the field and scored on a 19-yard read-option rush to go up 31-28.

“Our motto is 'Fight On,' and our team has really embodied that and did again tonight,” Riley said. 

Like Maiava, Reed had his sloppy moments, most notably a pair of interceptions in the second half, but came through when his team needed it most. Reed finished with 292 passing yards and three touchdowns while completing 26 of 42 attempts, adding nine carries for 46 yards on the ground.

His first two touchdown passes went to junior receiver Nolan Thomas before one to senior Jabre Barber that gave Texas A&M its game-high 17-point lead.

But that’s when Maiava came alive, in a fashion not all that removed from the way he did a year ago in the same venue while wearing scarlet and grey.

“I’m very confident in him," Riley said of Maiava's future in the program. "Going through what he’s been through and watching how much he’s improved….I think he's just going to continue to get better and better."

Maiava got his opportunity sooner than expected with UNLV when he came in for the injured Doug Brumfield in September 2023 and directed an upset comeback victory over Vanderbilt. He went on to win his first four games at Allegiant Stadium and was a key cog in getting UNLV to its first-ever Mountain West conference championship game.

But bigger NIL deals came calling in the offseason, and Maiava landed with USC where he sat for most of the season as a backup before starting its final four games including the bowl win.

USC officially bookended its 2024 season with upset wins at Allegiant Stadium after knocking off LSU 27-20 in the Vegas Kickoff Classic on Sept. 1.

That victory also required a late comeback and ended with celebration around then-quarterback Miller Moss, but the deficit was much bigger in the Las Vegas Bowl and so was the response to Maiava.

"We beat two good football teams in this building and had to do it in different ways," Riley said. "You feel it in the locker room right now, the confidence that we’re not going to go away, and we’re just going to keep getting better and better.”

 

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or