With the USC football program taking on Illinois in Week 5, the team is looking to stay undefeated in what has been a productive start to the season and an impressive one for quarterback Jayden Maiava. As the USC football team is 4-0 heading into the outing against the Fighting Illini, head coach Lincoln Riley has a message to his quarterback.
Speaking to the media on Thursday ahead of Saturday's contest, Riley spoke about Maiava's standout start to the season as he's thrown for 1,223 yards to go along with nine touchdowns and zero interceptions. Riley would have the straightforward response of “keep doing what he's doing,” as he mentioned how the junior quarterback is in a “good headspace,” according to Ryan Kartje.
“Keep doing what he's doing. Yeah, keep doing what he's doing. He's been steady, he's been in a good headspace,” Riley said. “There'll be different challenges. You know, you're gonna have mistakes here and there, and that's where your experience has got to show up. We just need him to be the steady leader that he's been, and keep playing really good, efficient ball, and like, he's been in a really good headspace to go do that.”
Four games in, Jayden Maiava is off to a stellar start.
So what does Lincoln Riley want to see from his QB over USC’s next 4 games?
“Just keep doing what he’s doing,” Riley says pic.twitter.com/Ob7O7HhftE
— Ryan Kartje (@RyanKartje) September 25, 2025
USC football's Jayden Maiava compared to Caleb Williams
With how well the program has started, Riley has even compared this USC football team to when quarterback Caleb Williams led the offense, who was a former No. 1 overall pick and now plays for the Chicago Bears. Part of that comparison was with Maiava, saying that both share multiple traits that go beyond talent.
“Lincoln Riley was asked how his confidence this year compares to how he felt about the ’22 team that went to the Pac-12 title game. The leadership and vibe, he said, is similar,” Kartje wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday. “‘But this is a more talented, more capable football team right now. By a pretty significant margin.'”
The Hawaii-native is coming off a game where he threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns against the Michigan State Spartans, completing 76.9 percent of his passes.
Maiava was with the Trojans last season, though with limited time as he completed 59.8 percent of his passes to go along with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. Before that, he played one season with the University of Las Vegas, but now leads the No. 21 USC football team as they visit No. 23 Illinois on Saturday.
