Jayden Maiava passed for 286 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score as No. 14 Southern California opened a season of high expectations with a 42-26 victory over San Jose State on Saturday. The scoreboard says opener. The machinery says something else: a ranked program, stocked with replacements and recruits, kept rolling even while several expected contributors sat out with apparent injuries, and San Jose State spent the fourth quarter trying to claw back against USC’s backup defenders.
Who Had the Upper Hand
USC built a 35-3 lead heading into the fourth quarter at the Coliseum, and six of the 10 Trojans who caught a pass were making their USC debuts. That’s the kind of depth college football sells as excellence, but it also shows how much of the game depends on a pipeline of bodies moving through a hierarchy that rewards the top and asks everyone else to adapt. Trent Mosley caught seven passes for 118 yards and a touchdown in his debut for the Trojans, and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt also caught a TD pass in his debut. Riley Wormley and Shahn Alston rushed for their first TDs.
Coach Lincoln Riley said, “Really dominated the game there through three quarters. A lot of exciting ball. (Had) a lot of guys (in) their first games as Trojans make a lot of big plays out there.” Maiava began his third season as the Trojans’ starting quarterback by rushing for a score on the opening drive. Dixon-Wyatt caught a short scoring slant in the second quarter, and 2025 breakout star King Miller rushed for a TD and a 28-0 lead right before halftime.
The Bottom of the Depth Chart Pays
USC defensive coordinator Gary Patterson’s unit mostly looked sharp until the fourth quarter, when new San Jose State quarterback Luke Weaver led three late touchdown drives against the Trojans’ backup defenders to tighten the final score considerably. That late surge came after USC had already done the damage. The starters had built the cushion. The backups absorbed the mess.
Riley said, “Fourth quarter, not up to our standards. A bunch of guys got opportunities, and we had several that did not play the way that we anticipated. There will be a lot to learn and grow from. ... The way our starters played, that deserved to be a single-digit-score game.” The language of standards and opportunity sounds tidy enough, but the facts are blunt: the people lower on the depth chart were the ones left to answer when the game got loose.
Mosley led the team with nine targets from Maiava, had a longest grab of 33 yards and 52 yards after the catch, and also had a 41-yard punt return in which he eluded several Spartans. Riley said, “He kind of just did what he does in practice. I don’t think anybody here is very surprised. That’s kind of what it looks like most days.” Miller said, “That kid moves differently. I mean, he’s special. I love to see him play.”
What San Jose State Managed
Hawaii transfer Weaver passed for 234 yards and threw fourth-quarter TD passes to Jerry McClure and Jordan Anderson before rushing for a late score. Ken Niumatalolo said, “That’s far and away the best football team they’ll play all year, and our guys were able to get open. We were able to protect against them, and so those things are encouraging. ... And when things did break down, it’s exciting to see Luke extend some plays. That’s going to bode well for us in the future.”
San Jose State’s late scoring drives didn’t change the result, but they did expose how quickly a game can shift once the top side stops leaning on its starters. USC won despite being without several expected key contributors because of apparent injuries. Star defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart and presumptive starting receivers Tanook Hines and NC State transfer Terrell Anderson were the biggest absences. The Trojans lost All-American receiver Makai Lemon and counterpart Ja’Kobi Lane to the NFL, but Mosley and their possible replacements looked promising. A few defensive players also stood out, particularly defensive end Luke Wafle, the top overall recruit in last year’s class by some evaluators.
Freshman quarterback Jonas Williams, Maiava’s possible successor next season, played the fourth quarter and passed for 55 yards with an interception. That’s the conveyor belt in motion. San Jose State visits Eastern Michigan on Friday, Sept. 4, and USC hosts Fresno State on Friday, Sept. 4.