Jayden Maiava

#14 · QB · USC6′4″ · 230 lb · Las Vegas, NV · Liberty

ZPR872nd of 119 QBs HeismanNo. 21in our model Last gameW 30–18vs Ohio State · Oct 31

Nextat IndianaSat Nov 14 · time TBA

via usctrojans.com ↗

USC is 7-2 in the nine games played. A chain-mover who rarely runs.

Strongest: sacked on 3% of dropbacks, 30th lowest of 159 starters.

Plays most like Richter, Toledo.

Passing yards

2,525

198 of 296, 67%

TD–INT

20–5

8.5 per throw

NCAA rating

157.5

28th of 119

ZPR

2nd of 119

How ZPR works

One rough passing grade, at Wisconsin.

1-1 against ranked teams, 274 passing yards a game.

Best by our grade: Fresno State. Lowest: at Wisconsin, with 2 interceptions and sacked 3 times. Biggest game: Ohio State, No. 2. Best play: Completion for 69 yards, touchdown, against Ohio State, Q1 14:21. Win chance 40% to 65%. Costliest play: Interception, against Washington, Q2 14:18. Win chance 74% to 53%.

Tap a game for its plays

Q1Q2Q3Q4

San José State

W 42–26·Unranked

Fans talked about this game

Great

286 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT · Rush 3 for -9, 1 TD · Sacked 1

Dude was wide open in the flat. TF is Maiava doing?
USC fan

Biggest swing: a Q1 run added 9 points of win chance. Win chance: 67% to 76%.

Full game page

Fresno State

W 39–0·Unranked

Great

349 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT · Rush 3 for -2 · Sacked 0

The last time a team gave up 2 safeties in a game was UNLV against Michigan in 2023. Maiava played in that game.
USC fan

Biggest swing: a Q2 completion added 34 points of win chance. Win chance: 64% to 99%.

Full game page

Louisiana

W 49–30·Unranked

Fans talked about this game

Great

261 yds, 5 TD, 1 INT · No rushes · The interception cost about 15 points of win chance · Sacked 0

Maiava we gotta clean that up before Oregon lol
USC fan

Biggest swing: a Q1 completion added 16 points of win chance. Win chance: 59% to 74%.

Full game page

at Rutgers

W 42–35·Unranked

Solid

277 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT · Rush 3 for 9 · Sacked 1

The fact that I don't know if Maiava is injured or he just went back to being ass is concerning me
USC fan

Biggest swing: a Q2 completion added 18 points of win chance. Win chance: 65% to 82%.

Full game page

Oregon

L 27–41·Ranked #20

Solid

326 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT · Rush 6 for 1, 1 TD · Sacked 2

Maiava only person on this team with a soul I guess
USC fan

Biggest swing: a Q4 completion added 34 points of win chance. It flipped the game for the team: 34% to 68%.

Full game page

Washington

W 25–21·Unranked

Solid

245 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT · Rush 3 for -3 · A second-quarter interception took the team's chance of winning from 58% to 36% · Sacked 1

That smirk by Riley was the realization that he f----- up sticking with Maiava. Who has regressed every season since his first. Start.
USC fan

Biggest swing: a Q4 completion added 31 points of win chance. It flipped the game for the team: 36% to 67%.

Full game page

at Penn State

W 31–23·Unranked

Great

Steady all game · 301 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT · Rush 2 for -1 · Sacked 1

Please don’t throw a pick Maiava.
USC fan

Biggest swing: a Q4 completion added 28 points of win chance. Win chance: 59% to 87%.

Full game page

at Wisconsin

L 7–24·Unranked

Fans talked about this game

Shaky

258 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT · Rush 5 for -57 · Interceptions cost about 22 points of win chance · Sacked 3

The TE literally pushed the defender into Maiava
USC fan

Biggest swing: a Q2 completion added 21 points of win chance. It flipped the game for the team: 45% to 66%.

Full game page

Ohio State

W 30–18·Ranked #2

Great

222 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT · Rush 1 for -9 · Sacked 0

Crazy to me people think maiava is good. Had been carried by NFL wide receivers his entire career
USC fan

Biggest swing: a Q1 completion added 21 points of win chance. Win chance: 59% to 80%.

Full game page

Season

Fades after halftime

How to read this

Each column is a quarter. Blue and up is a good stretch for the quarterback, red and down a bad one, hatched means the game was already decided. A red cross is a turnover and a black dot a touchdown. The word on the right grades the whole game. A gold line means the r/CFB game thread kept naming the quarterback. Dashed outlines on the Season row are last season’s average. Tap a game to open its plays: each bar is one of the quarterback’s plays, up helped the team’s chance of winning and down hurt it, and the grey line is that chance.

The word grades the game against every FBS quarterback start, from Rough to Great, using the same throws as the season Zeitgeist Passer Rating and adjusting for the defense faced. Bars are points added per throw in that quarter. The Season row leaves out quarters after a game was decided.

Style of play

Chain-mover

Also: stays in the pocket

Why this word

Runs1.2 a gameRarelyA lot

Throws8.4 yards past the lineShortDeep

Completes65% by play-by-playFewerMore

Takes sacks3% of dropbacksRarelyOften

The dot is this quarterback, among this season’s starters; the tick is the middle.

Throws at a middling depth and rarely runs. 1.2 carries a game. Closest matches: Richter, Hoover ’25, Bailey, Reed ’25.

Where the throws go

Behind the line16%typical 17%

Short46%typical 47%

Middle27%typical 22%

Deep12%typical 14%

Runs 1.2 times a game; 92% of starters run more.

Closest in style

Nearer the middle means more alike.

Richter Toledo · Pocket passer
2,304 yards, 18 TD, 3 INT so far. Both rarely run and score a lot.
Hoover ’25 TCU 2025 · Chain-mover
3,472 yards, 29 TD, 13 INT. Both avoid sacks and are efficient.
Bailey NC State · Chain-mover
1,955 yards, 13 TD, 4 INT so far. Both avoid sacks and are efficient.
Reed ’25 Texas A&M 2025 · Short-game passer
3,169 yards, 25 TD, 12 INT. Both score a lot and are efficient.

Compared with the 159 FBS starters this season for throws and running, and with 220 quarterbacks across 2 seasons for the matches, on how they play and how they have done.

This week

RecordUSC is 7-2, No. 18 in the AP poll (week 10).
Last gameOct. 31 · a win over Ohio State, 222 passing yards.
Fans after Ohio State
Screen was the perfect play call there. Would've been a first down if Maiava could aim
USC fan
Next gameat Indiana · Sat Nov 14

What’s being said

3 stories this week, from 5 outlets.

Stories per day. W and L: the team’s results.

USC stuns No. 2 Ohio State 30-18 with big plays from Jayden Maiava, freshman Trent Mosley - ClickOnDetroit

AP News +3 Nov 1

All 134 stories this season

Worth knowing

Jayden Maiava is rated 92 overall in EA College Football 27, tied for 4th among the game's quarterbacks.
Jayden Maiava was third-team All-Big Ten in 2025.

The most important play this season

Q1, 14:21 · USC tiedJayden Maiava finds Trent Mosley for a 69-yard touchdownOhio State at USC, week 9Q1, 14:21 · USC 7, Ohio State 06969-yard touchdown pass6969-yard touchdown pass69-yard touchdown passJ.Maiava pass complete short right to T.Mosley caught at USC32, for 69 yards to the OSU00 touchdown, 1ST DOWN, kick goodWatch from this playBig Ten Football

All 16 plays on video

Jayden Maiava

QB · USC · #14

Picks you apart underneath and protects the ball. The four seasons span two programs and two head coaches: Barry Odom and Lincoln Riley. All-Big Ten in 2025 was the second season with an honor. On tape: 349 passing yards and 3 passing TD against Fresno State, Week 1, 2026.

2,525 passing yards · 20 passing TD · -1 rushing yards

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2026	USC	198	296	66.9%	2,525	8.5	20	5	157.5	87
2025	USC	265	403	65.8%	3,711	9.2	24	10	157.8	93
2024	USC	101	169	59.8%	1,201	7.1	11	6	133.8	56
2023	UNLV	224	353	63.5%	3,085	8.7	17	10	147.1	76
Career		788	1,221	64.5%	10,522	8.6	72	31	151.3	82

Season	Team
2026	USC	26	−71	−2.7	2	12
2025	USC	54	157	2.9	6	21
2024	USC	20	45	2.2	4	13
2023	UNLV	73	277	3.8	3	34
Career		173	408	2.4	15	34

Last game (Wk 9): 222 passing yards, 1 passing TD.

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2026 season · 9 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	Grade	CMP/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	YPA	QBR	SK	RUSH	Note
Wk 1	W 42-26vs San José State	Great	25/29	286	2	0	9.9	90.0	1	-9	3 TD passes
Wk 1	W 39-0vs Fresno State	Great	23/25	349	3	0	14.0	98.0	0	-2	3 TD passes
Wk 2	W 49-30vs Louisiana	Great	19/29	261	5	1	9.0	—	0	—	5 TD passes
Wk 3	W 42-35@ Rutgers	Solid	20/32	277	2	0	8.7	66.9	1	9	Clean 2-TD game
Wk 4	L 27-41vs No. 20 Oregon	Solid	23/42	326	2	1	7.8	83.9	2	1
Wk 5	W 25-21vs Washington	Solid	21/34	245	1	1	7.2	54.3	1	-3
Wk 6	W 31-23@ Penn State	Great	21/33	301	3	0	9.1	97.4	1	-1	3 TD passes
Wk 8	L 7-24@ Wisconsin	Shaky	31/50	258	1	2	5.2	51.8	3	-57
Wk 9	W 30-18vs No. 2 Ohio State	Great	15/22	222	1	0	10.1	83.4	0	-9
Total			198/296	2525	20	5	8.5	—	9	-71

The latest game

Oct. 31 · W 30-18 vs Ohio State

15 of 22 for 222 yards and a touchdown.

Season, game by game

Game by game

W 30-18 vs Ohio StateOct. 31222 yds15 of 22, 1 TDPlay by play just above · 10.1 yds an attempt, 16th in FBS

L 7-24 at WisconsinOct. 24258 yds31 of 50, 1 TD, 2 INT5.2 yds an attempt, 90th in FBS

31 of 50 for 258 yards, a touchdown and 2 interceptions.

Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.

7 more games, with the play by play

W 31-23 at Penn StateOct. 10301 yds21 of 33, 3 TD9.1 yds an attempt, 25th in FBS

Play by playOn the field

21 of 33 for 301 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jayden Maiava was 6 of 10 on third and fourth down.

5 of 8 drives scored
6 of 10 on 3rd and 4th down
sacked once
1 run for 5 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
TD5 of 5, 62 yds1
Punt0 of 1, 0 yds2
TD4 of 5, 58 yds3
Second quarterbegan tied 7-7
Missed FG2 of 6, 30 yds
FG2 of 4, 60 yds4
Third quarterbegan tied 17-17
TD2 of 2, 26 yds
Fourth quarterbegan up 24-20
TD6 of 9, 65 yds
Punt0 of 1, 0 yds
FinalW 31-23

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive this quarterback didn’t playa completion, by its yardsa runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteintercepteda runsacked

1
18-yard completion to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt on 4th and 5. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
2
Incomplete to Tanook Hines on 3rd and 8. First quarter, tied 7-7.
3
14-yard completion to Tanook Hines on 3rd and 5. First quarter, tied 7-7. Converted.
4
40-yard completion to Tanook Hines on 3rd and 7. Second quarter, tied 14-14. Converted.

1020304040

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

W 25-21 vs WashingtonOct. 3245 yds21 of 34, 1 TD, 1 INT7.2 yds an attempt, 63rd in FBS

21 of 34 for 245 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.

L 27-41 vs OregonSept. 26326 yds23 of 42, 2 TD, 1 INT7.8 yds an attempt, 56th in FBS

Play by playOn the field

23 of 42 for 326 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. USC’s last drive ended with an intercepted pass, down 41-27. Jayden Maiava ran 4 times for 11 yards, after 8 runs in the other 8 games combined.

5 of 9 drives scored
3 of 11 on 3rd and 4th down
sacked twice
4 runs for 11 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
Missed FG3 of 4, 45 yds1
Punt2 of 4, 25 yds
Second quarterbegan down 3-0
TD2 of 3, 37 yds2
FG1 of 3, 9 yds
Third quarterbegan down 13-10
TD3 of 4, 53 yds
FG3 of 5, 55 yds
Fourth quarterbegan down 27-20
TD3 of 4, 47 yds
Downs1 of 5, 21 yds3
Int5 of 10, 34 yds4
FinalL 27-41

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive this quarterback didn’t playa completion, by its yardsa runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteintercepteda runsacked

1
7-yard completion to Mark Bowman on 3rd and 8. First quarter, tied 0-0.
2
31-yard touchdown pass to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. Second quarter, made it 7-3.
3
Incomplete to Zach Williams on 4th and 7. Fourth quarter, down 34-27. Turnover on downs. Broken up by Oregon’s B. Finney.
4
Intercepted. Fourth quarter, down 41-27. Picked off by Oregon’s Koi Perich.

1020304031

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

W 42-35 at RutgersSept. 19277 yds20 of 32, 2 TD8.7 yds an attempt, 43rd in FBS

Play by playOn the field

20 of 32 for 277 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jayden Maiava was 3 of 8 on third and fourth down.

5 of 8 drives scored
3 of 8 on 3rd and 4th down
sacked once
1 run for 12 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
FG3 of 7, 31 yds1
TD3 of 3, 73 yds2
Second quarterbegan up 10-7
Punt2 of 3, 16 yds
FG3 of 6, 58 yds
Third quarterbegan up 20-14
TD3 of 4, 32 yds
Downs2 of 5, 34 yds34
Fourth quarterbegan up 35-28
TD1 of 1, 2 yds
Uncategorized3 of 3, 31 yds
FinalW 42-35

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive this quarterback didn’t playa completion, by its yardsa runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteintercepteda runsacked

1
Incomplete to Zach Williams on 3rd and 8. First quarter, tied 0-0. Fans named the player again and again right after: the most-talked-about moment of the game.
“Maiava looks awful”USC fan, r/CFB game thread
2
52-yard touchdown pass to Corey Simms on 3rd and 14. Second quarter, made it 17-7.
3
Incomplete to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt on 2nd and 7. Third quarter, up 35-28. Fans named the player again and again right after.
“Man, two years ago Maiava used to have a really solid deep ball.”Notre Dame fan, r/CFB game thread
4
2-yard completion to Corey Simms on 4th and 4. Fourth quarter, up 35-28. Turnover on downs.

102030405232

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

W 49-30 vs LouisianaSept. 12261 yds19 of 29, 5 TD, 1 INTBig game · 9 yds an attempt, 39th in FBS

A big game: 19 of 29 for 261 yards, 5 touchdowns and an interception.

Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.

W 39-0 vs Fresno StateSept. 4349 yds23 of 25, 3 TD14 yds an attempt, 4th in FBS

Play by playOn the field

23 of 25 for 349 yards and 3 touchdowns; 14 yards an attempt, 4th-best in FBS that week. Jayden Maiava was 4 of 6 on third and fourth down.

4 of 7 drives scored
4 of 6 on 3rd and 4th down
3 runs for -2 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
TD6 of 7, 82 yds12
Fumble3 of 3, 36 yds
Second quarterbegan up 7-0
TD2 of 2, 78 yds3
Downs2 of 2, 28 yds4
TD3 of 3, 40 yds
TD1 of 1, 20 yds
Third quarterbegan up 30-0
Fumble6 of 7, 65 yds
FinalW 39-0

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive this quarterback didn’t playa completion, by its yardsa runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteintercepteda runsacked

1
9-yard completion to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt on 3rd and 9. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
2
Incomplete to Trent Mosley on 3rd and 5. First quarter, tied 0-0.
3
68-yard touchdown pass to Trent Mosley. Second quarter, made it 14-0.
4
No gain on 4th and 1. Second quarter, up 14-0. Turnover on downs.

10203040683031

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

W 42-26 vs San José StateAug. 29286 yds25 of 29, 2 TD9.9 yds an attempt, 40th in FBS

Highs and lows

Only games with 20 or more plays count for best and lowest.
Best by our grade	Fresno State	W 39-0 · Graded great · 349 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT · Rush 3 for -2 · Sacked 0
Lowest by our grade	at Wisconsin	L 7-24 · Graded shaky · 258 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT · Rush 5 for -57 · Interceptions cost about 22 points of win chance · Sacked 3
Biggest game	Ohio State	No. 2 at kickoff · W 30-18 · Graded great · 222 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT · Rush 1 for -9 · Sacked 0
Best play	Ohio State	Completion for 69 yards, touchdown, Q1 14:21 · Win chance 40% to 65%
Costliest play	Washington	Interception, Q2 14:18 · Win chance 74% to 53%

Where the stats rank

5th among FBS quarterbacks in passing yards. Tied for 7th in the nation in touchdown passes.

Stat	Player	Nation	Big Ten
Passing yards	2,525	5th of 370	1st of 50
Yards an attempt	8.5	T-28th of 153	T-5th of 22
Touchdown passes	20	T-7th of 370	1st of 50
Passer rating	157.5	29th of 153	5th of 22
Completion percentage	66.9	39th of 153	5th of 22
Rushing yards	-71	369th of 370	50th of 50
Rushing touchdowns	2	T-72nd of 370	T-5th of 50

Counting stats rank all FBS quarterbacks with a pass attempt; the rates rank those with at least 10 attempts a game.

All Big Ten quarterbacks

Rk	Quarterback	Yards	TD	INT	Att	Y/A
1	Jayden Maiava	2,525	20	5	296	8.5
2	Julian Sayin	2,007	19	4	192	10.5
3	Ryan Browne	1,964	11	5	250	7.9
4	Aidan Chiles	1,898	13	1	202	9.4
5	Josh Hoover	1,860	19	2	206	9.0
6	Rocco Becht	1,839	13	5	234	7.9
7	Anthony Colandrea	1,824	15	7	263	6.9
8	Malik Washington	1,805	9	7	289	6.2
9	Katin Houser	1,663	13	5	216	7.7
10	Drake Lindsey	1,592	10	6	259	6.1
11	Demond Williams Jr.	1,495	9	3	187	8.0
12	Colton Joseph	1,346	11	5	187	7.2
13	Alessio Milivojevic	1,263	7	3	185	6.8
14	Hank Brown	1,190	8	3	169	7.0
15	Dylan Raiola	1,097	9	2	145	7.6
16	Dylan Lonergan	1,066	10	6	127	8.4
17	Nico Iamaleava	982	4	4	116	8.5
18	Dante Moore	926	9	0	99	9.4
19	Bryce Underwood	924	5	6	124	7.5
20	Elijah Brown	714	7	3	99	7.2
21	Ty Dieffenbach	683	3	1	100	6.8
22	AJ Surace	662	7	5	83	8.0
23	Tommy Carr	503	2	1	68	7.4
24	Jeremy Hecklinski	472	4	2	67	7.0
25	Luke Fahey	463	3	2	51	9.1
26	Grant Wilson	230	3	0	22	10.5
27	Brock Thomas	228	1	1	40	5.7
28	Michael Clayton II	172	4	0	26	6.6
29	Jonas Williams	126	0	1	14	9.0
30	Alex Manske	102	0	0	14	7.3
31	Evans Chuba	96	1	0	14	6.9
32	Ryan Hopkins	93	0	1	13	7.2
33	TJ Lateef	82	1	0	11	7.5
34	Leo Hannan	67	0	1	15	4.5
35	Cardell Williams	63	1	0	7	9.0
36	Cam Fancher	59	0	1	11	5.4
37	Tavien St. Clair	52	1	1	7	7.4
38	Max Shikenjanski	50	0	0	3	16.7
39	Sean Ashenfelder	50	0	1	10	5.0
40	Kayd Coffman	42	1	1	10	4.2
41	Jack Capaldi	35	0	0	2	17.5
42	Brady Palmer	34	0	0	6	5.7
43	Akili Smith Jr.	31	0	0	4	7.8
44	Jimmy Sullivan	13	0	0	4	3.2
45	Tyler Cherry	10	0	0	3	3.3
46	Connor Barry	8	0	0	2	4.0
47	Carson Boyd	5	0	0	1	5.0
48	Madden Iamaleava	0	0	0	1	0.0
49	Nicco Marchiol	0	0	0	1	0.0
50	Daniel Kaelin	-1	0	0	2	-0.5

Sorted by passing yards. Gray: under 10 attempts a game, so not ranked on yards an attempt.

Passing yards2,5251st in the Big Ten this season; 4th among current FBS players over the whole career (10,522).

Touchdown passes201st in the Big Ten this season; 7th among current FBS players over the whole career (72).

Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.

Opponents faced, by strength

Ratings of the games shown run from -11 to +29 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).

Pass targets

Dixon-Wyatt and Mosley saw 102 of the 299 charted throws.

Receiver	Targets	Catches	Yards	Throw depth	After catch
Kayden Dixon-Wyatt	52	32	443	12.5	4.4
Trent Mosley	50	33	523	8.8	8.6
Tanook Hines	33	19	239	12.0	3.4
Mark Bowman	30	23	279	6.4	6.7
Zacharyus Williams	24	19	326	9.9	6.9
12 others	99	73	726	3.9	6.9
No receiver charted	11	All five interceptions are among these

Play by play: 299 passes, 199 caught, 2,536 yards; the box score counts 296 attempts. Throw depth: average air yards per target. After catch: average yards after the catch per catch. Bar: targets; the blue part was caught.

Passing profile

Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)

Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from

198/296 (66.9%) · 20 TD · 5 INT

All 296 box-score attempts covered (play-by-play lists 299 passing plays)

293 of 299 attempts charted for true throw depth

Totals here are the box score's. Play-by-play lists 299 passing plays (199 completions) against the box score's 296 attempts (198 completions), and the depth buckets use play-by-play.

Adjusted ANY/A

8.5329 of 186 QBs

Sack rate

3.3%32 of 186 QBs

Rarely sacked (32 of 186 QBs) and still 29 of 186 in Adjusted ANY/A.

Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.

Behind LOS · Negative air yds

15% of attempts (45)

80%comp

Air -3.6 · YAC 12.2 avg

Short · 0–9 air yds

48% of attempts (140)

74%comp1 INT

Air 4.4 · YAC 4.9 avg

Middle · 10–19 air yds

25% of attempts (74)

58%comp1 INT

Air 13.4 · YAC 5.4 avg

Deep · 20+ air yds

12% of attempts (34)

38%comp3 INT

Air 27.4 · YAC 6.8 avg

Overall 66.9% completion on 296 attempts · 38% completion on 34 deep attempts (20+ air yds).

Situational

Is this a different quarterback when it matters

Each situation vs the 2026 baseline

No situation is more than 33 percentile points from the season baseline.

BaselineThis situation

Down 1

-33 pct pts vs baseline · sacks 2/110 (1.8%) · league sack rate 4.5%

Down 2

+21 pct pts vs baseline · sacks 4/102 (3.9%) · league sack rate 5.0%

Down 3+

+22 pct pts vs baseline · sacks 3/69 (4.3%) · league sack rate 8.3%

Deltas are vs. this player’s own season baseline, never a league average. League sack rate by down is shown as context because sack attribution isn’t incompletion-denominated.

Teams and coaches

2023UNLV9-5HC: Barry Odom · Run-leaning

2024USC7-6HC: Lincoln Riley · Pass-leaning

2025USC9-4HC: Lincoln Riley · Balanced

2026USC7-2HC: Lincoln Riley · Balanced

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 74 (#16 of 145). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

74Quality starter #16 of 145?

13 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: success rate (98th percentile). Strength: epa / dropback (90th percentile). Concern: rush yards (1st percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Success rate#3 / 158 · 98th pct

54.5%

EPA / dropback#17 / 158 · 90th pct

0.39

Sack rate#22 / 158 · 86th pct

3.2%

Interception rate#54 / 158 · 66th pct

1.7%

Explosive rate#56 / 158 · 65th pct

11.4%

Box-score rates (8)

Pass yards#6 / 160 · 97th pct

2525

Pass TDs#8 / 160 · 95th pct

Fumbles lost#1 / 143 · 92nd pct

Yards / att#30 / 160 · 80th pct

8.5

Completion %#40 / 160 · 75th pct

66.9%

Rush TDs#58 / 160 · 52nd pct

Interceptions#88 / 160 · 37th pct

Rush yards#159 / 160 · 1st pct

-71

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / dropback

99th → 90th percentile

Success rate

98th → 98th percentile

Explosive rate

98th → 65th percentile

Sack rate

95th → 86th percentile

Interception rate

37th → 66th percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Zeitgeist Passer Rating

2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.

After 281 dropbacks

87Zeitgeist Passer Rating2nd of 119 FBS QBs

NCAA passer rating 157.5 28th of 119 FBS QBs

ZPR ranks this quarterback 26 places higher than passer rating does: passer rating cannot see sacks, and a sack comes on only 3.2% of dropbacks; and the schedule adjustment credits the defenses faced.

Positive-play rate weight 24%

58.7%99th pct of FBS QBs

share of dropbacks that gained expected points · +2.1% schedule adj.

Yards per attempt weight 56%

9.2494th pct of FBS QBs

sacks excluded · +0.6 schedule adj.

Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)

4.0%78th pct of FBS QBs

the input passer rating cannot see · +0.8% schedule adj.

Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (27 of 308 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. How ZPR is built.

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2026 season · 9 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Home6g	282	2.3	9.7	0.5
Road3g	279	2.0	7.7	0.7

First half vs Second half

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Weeks 1-77g	292	2.6	9.4	0.4
Weeks 8+2g	240	1.0	7.7	1.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Lincoln Riley

Pass share

51.8%

310 pass / 289 run

Plays / game

66.6

9 games

Scheme: Balanced.

USC’s two quarterbacks

Jayden Maiava	Threw in all 9 games · 198 of 296, 2,525 yds, 20 TD, 5 INT · 8.5 yards an attempt on 296 attempts · ran for -71 yds, 2 TD
Jonas Williams	Threw in 3 of 9 games · 12 of 14, 126 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT · 9.0 yards an attempt on 14 attempts · ran for 3 yds, 0 TD

Box score. Every quarterback on the team who has thrown a pass this season.

Who threw, quarter by quarter

Who threw in each quarter. Blue: Jayden Maiava. Gray: Jonas Williams. From the play by play.

Q1Q2Q3Q4San José StateFresno StateLouisiana@ RutgersOregonWashington@ Penn State@ WisconsinOhio State

Awards

Player standing · 2025

All-Conference

Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

2026 outlook

Heisman market2.7%implied · #7 in the marketfull market ›

Heisman trajectory

Heisman futures · sportsbook market

#7 in market ▲ from No. 12 in February · 5 books

+17502.7% implied▼ lengthened from +1100

Our Heisman model · 2026 · week 10

#21

Peak #6 · week 1

Avg #14.9

Finalist chance under 1%

Peaked at #6 in week 1; #21 as of week 10.

Our model's rank, not the betting market's.

Five seasons, two schools

2026 is in progress.

2026 USC Riley
Year 5 · 9 games
2025 USC Riley
Year 4 · 13 games
All-conference
2024 USC Riley
Year 3 · 7 games
Jan 2024 Entered the transfer portal
UNLV to USC
2023 UNLV Odom
Year 2 · 14 games
All-conference
2022 UNLV Arroyo
Year 1 · on the roster, no stat line
High school Liberty
Henderson, NV · Class of 2022
Three-star, No. 855 in the 2022 class. Signed with UNLV.
Also from Liberty: Anthony Jones (Nebraska), A.J. Fuimaono (UCLA), Zyrus Fiaseu (Arizona State) and 6 more.

Season by season

Jayden Maiava

USC · Leads the team in passes

Three-star, No. 855 in the 2022 class. Liberty, Henderson, NV.

In 2026 Jayden Maiava threw 296 of USC's 310 passes, in all nine games.

Passing seasons on file
Year	School	Passes	Yards	TD	INT
2023	UNLV	353	3,085	17	10
2024	USC	169	1,201	11	6
2025	USC	403	3,711	24	10
2026	USC	296	2,525	20	5

Of 41 three-star quarterbacks at Group of Five schools who threw 100 or more passes in their fourth season, 25 threw 100 or more passes in their fifth season

Three-star quarterbacks at Group of Five schools whose first season on an FBS roster was 2015 to 2021. Maiava is in the same spot now: three-star, 100 or more passes in a fourth season. Here is where each of the 41 stood in their fifth season. Press a row to see the names.

25Threw 100 or more passesAt a different school: 11 of 25

Riley Neal, Ball State, first season 2015. Passes in the fifth season: 258. At a different school.
Jack Abraham, Louisiana Tech, first season 2016. Passes in the fifth season: 147. At a different school.
Collin Hill, Colorado State, first season 2016. Passes in the fifth season: 211. At a different school.
Kyle Vantrease, Buffalo, first season 2017. Passes in the fifth season: 262.
Drew Plitt, Ball State, first season 2017. Passes in the fifth season: 365.
Holton Ahlers, East Carolina, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 469.
Carter Bradley, Toledo, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 426. At a different school.
Ben Bryant, Cincinnati, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 349.
Clayton Tune, Houston, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 497.
Davis Brin, Tulsa, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 250.
Jason Bean, North Texas, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 136. At a different school.
Dylan Hopkins, UAB, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 215.
Gunnar Watson, Troy, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 335.
Chandler Fields, Louisiana, first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: 143.
Cooper Legas, Utah State, first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: 213.
Daniel Richardson, Central Michigan, first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: 318. At a different school.
Kurtis Rourke, Ohio, first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: 307.
Brett Gabbert, Miami (OH), first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: 188.
Dillon Gabriel, UCF, first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: 384. At a different school.
Hayden Wolff, Old Dominion, first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: 226. At a different school.
Taylen Green, Boise State, first season 2021. Passes in the fifth season: 326. At a different school.
Braylon Braxton, Tulsa, first season 2021. Passes in the fifth season: 400. At a different school.
Nick Vattiato, Middle Tennessee, first season 2021. Passes in the fifth season: 357.
Walker Eget, San José State, first season 2021. Passes in the fifth season: 393.
Grayson James, Florida International, first season 2021. Passes in the fifth season: 151. At a different school.

9On a roster, under 100 passesAt a different school: eight of nine

Sawyer Smith, Troy, first season 2016. Passes in the fifth season: none. At a different school.
Steven Krajewski, UConn, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: none. At a different school.
Grant Wells, Marshall, first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: 68. At a different school.
Collin Schlee, Kent State, first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: 47. At a different school.
Zach Gibson, Akron, first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: none. At a different school.
Johnathan Bennett, Liberty, first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: six.
Mikey Keene, UCF, first season 2021. Passes in the fifth season: none. At a different school.
Cam Fancher, Marshall, first season 2021. Passes in the fifth season: 72. At a different school.
Ethan Hampton, Northern Illinois, first season 2021. Passes in the fifth season: four. At a different school.

6No roster listing

1Drafted

Michael Pratt, Tulane, first season 2020. Drafted No. 245 overall in 2024.

The furthest path up, and the low edge

These two mark the edges of the group, not a usual path.

Furthest up: Michael Pratt

Tulane, first season 2020. Drafted No. 245 overall in 2024.

The low edge

Of the 41, six had no roster listing in the fifth season. Our rosters cannot say why a listing stops.

How to read this

The group is every one of the three-star quarterbacks at Group of Five schools with 100 or more passes in a fourth season on an FBS roster, first seasons 2015 to 2021. A quarterback counts under “Threw 100 or more passes” when the passes in the fifth season, at any FBS school, add to 100 or more. “No roster listing” means no FBS roster listed the quarterback as a QB that season. A missing listing does not say why a listing stops, and rosters below FBS are still being filled in. “Drafted” means picked in a draft held before the fifth season. Quarterbacks whose name matches a second QB id are left out. Furthest up is the highest draft pick in the group, or with no draft pick, the most passes in the fifth season. The low edge is a count of quarterbacks with no roster listing in the fifth season. Counts are from box scores and rosters on our list. Seasons before 2022 predate today's transfer rules.

How often quarterbacks like this changed schools

In 2023 to 2025, Group of Five quarterbacks with 100 or more passes in a season who had thrown 50 or more the year before: 40 of 72 changed schools the next year. Those who had thrown fewer than 50: 18 of 72.

Quarterbacks with 100 or more passes and above-average play (ZPR 50 or higher), 2021 to 2025 seasons: at the lowest third of programs on 247 talent, 30 of 62 changed schools the next year. At the rest, 45 of 172.

Both count only quarterbacks who threw a pass the next season. These are counts from past seasons and say nothing about any one quarterback.

Moves

Transferred from UNLV to USC, Jan 2, 2024.

Honored in a first season.

The week the volume broke through — put up 349 yds vs Fresno State.Fresno State · W 39-02026

2022

Signed with UNLVThree-star, out of Liberty

2023 14 games

All-Mountain Westsecond
Mountain West Freshman Player of the Yearwinner

2024 7 games

The snaps went the other way.

Transferred to USCfrom UNLV

2025 13 games

All-Big Tenthird

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

10 honors · 2 categories

ALL-BIG TEN

All-Big Ten mention (2025)

Weekly recognition

5 weekly honors (2023)

6 career weekly honors across 2 seasons — a 4+ season has tracked to All-Conference ~83% of the time

Coaching lineage · 2022–2026

3 coaches

2022

Marcus Arroyo

UNLV

2023

Barry Odom

UNLV

era →

2024–2026

Lincoln Riley

USC

era →

Played for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Marcus Arroyo, Barry Odom and Lincoln Riley.

Jayden Maiava

Style of play

This week

What’s being said

Worth knowing

The most important play this season

In the news this week

In the news this season

What they’re talking about

Week by week

What was said at each stop

In the news across the career

What fans said

Latest stories

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

The latest game

Game by game

Highs and lows

Where the stats rank

Pass targets

Passing profile

Situational

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

USC’s two quarterbacks

Who threw, quarter by quarter

Awards

All-Conference

Heisman trajectory

#21

Five seasons, two schools

Jayden Maiava

Of 41 three-star quarterbacks at Group of Five schools who threw 100 or more passes in their fourth season, 25 threw 100 or more passes in their fifth season

The furthest path up, and the low edge

Furthest up: Michael Pratt

The low edge

How often quarterbacks like this changed schools

Moves

2022

2023 14 games

2024 7 games

2025 13 games