With the USC football team taking on the Purdue Boilermakers in Week 3 of the college football season, the program has been led by quarterback Jayden Maiava, who has been exceptional to start the season. While the USC football offensive line isn't set in stone, the main goal is to protect Maiava, who revealed the main focus for the program this season.
Besides the main components of developing to be a good football player, Maiava spoke on a certain aspect that doesn't get talked about a lot regarding keeping the body mentally and physically sound. On Wednesday, he discussed the importance of sleep and how that has been the “biggest emphasis coming into the season,” according to Adrian Medina.
“That was the biggest emphasis coming into this season, getting a lot of sleep,” Maiava said after Tuesday afternoon's practice. “Every single day during camp, they would give us the sleep facts, so if it's working for the people at the highest level, why not do it for us too?”
USC QB Jayden Maiava on the importance of sleep and how the Trojans have utilized that during the 2025 season for recovery
“That was the biggest emphasis coming into this season, getting a lot of sleep,” Maiava said after Tuesday afternoon's practice. “Every single day during… pic.twitter.com/7fQshUJHdK
— Adrian Medina (@AdrianMedina_16) September 10, 2025
So far, it's been working for the Trojans, who are 2-0 to begin the year, and specifically for Maiava, who has thrown for 707 yards and six touchdowns through two games. This includes throwing for 412 yards and four scores in a 59-20 win over Georgia Southern last weekend.
USC football's Lincoln Riley on the performance so far
As the USC football team looks to tweak its game plan heading into the rest of the schedule, there's no doubt that the program has looked solid so far, though it's still early in the season. Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley spoke about the explosive plays that separated the team from the opponent, via Yahoo Sports.
“Teams that win the explosive play battles typically win games, so it’s good,” Riley said. “I mean, we’re making some big plays on all sides, which is great. It doesn’t mean it will always be like that, so we’re also looking to play clean and very efficient as well. But, yeah, seeing some explosive plays, obviously, it takes some of the pressure off just the play-to-play execution.”
There seems to be very little to complain about regarding the Trojans' performance through two games, though one could point to the level of competition they're playing in not just the Eagles on Saturday, but also Missouri State in Week 1. Either way, Riley has been happy with how “well prepared” the locker room has been.
“We’ve played pretty sound,” Riley said. “We’ve made very few big mistakes, so I think the guys have been steady, been locked in, have been well prepared, and I think that’s good to see.”
The USC football team hopes to improve to 3-0 after a battle with Purdue this weekend.
