USC Trojans' Jayden Maiava Rallies in Second Half, Beats Texas A&M in Las Vegas Bowl

The USC Trojans mounted a 17-point comeback to beat the Texas A&M Aggies 35-31 in the Las Vegas Bowl. It was a rocky performance from USC quarterback Jayden Maiava, but he made impactful throws down the stretch.

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) throws the ball against the Texas A&M Aggies in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans faced off against the Texas A&M Aggies in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl. Jayden Maiava started his fourth game at quarterback for the Trojans. It was a tough start for Maiava and the Trojans, but they rallied in the fourth quarter for a comeback 35-31 win.

Maiava finished the game 22 of 39 for 295 yards with four passing touchdowns and three interceptions. 

Lincoln Riley Confident in Jayden Maiava 

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) throws the ball against the Texas A&M Aggies in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It was an up and down night for Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava, but he did enough to get the win. In his four starts to end the 2024 season, Maiava went 3-1. USC coach Lincoln Riley feels good about having Maiava under center heading into the 2025 season, and he said as much following the 35-31 Las Vegas Bowl win.

“I’m very confident in him (Jayden Maiava). The guy is so selfless, so about the team,” Riley said. “He’s only continued to get better and better.”

Maiava showed his poise tonight and was able to brush off early mistakes to help fuel the Trojans late rally.

USC Mounts Huge 2nd Half Comeback

Things were looking grim for USC late in the third quarter after Texas A&M took a commanding 24-7 lead. It was a struggle for Maiava and the Trojan offense through two and a half quarters. Maiava finished the first half with only 69 passing yards and didn’t convert a pass on third down until well into the second half. He also was not taking care of the ball and had some bad interceptions thrown. 

The comeback was jumpstarted with a pair of Texas A&M defensive pass interference penalties that extended a USC drive in the third quarter. With 3:42 left in the third, Maiava connected with wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane for one of his three touchdown receptions of the night. 

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Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) carries the ball against Texas A&M Aggies linebacker Daymion Sanford (27) in the second half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

USC inched closer with a Bryan Jackson touchdown run to cut the Aggies lead to 24-21 at the start of the four quarter. USC got the ball back again and marched down the field to take a 28-24 lead after a Lane touchdown from Maiava. 

The Aggies offense then got going, and quarterback Marcel Reed extended multiple plays on the ensuing drive with his legs and eventually scampered for a 19-yard touchdown run to take back the lead at 31-28 with 1:49 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Maiava and the USC offense got the ball back. Jacobi Lane had a pair of huge receptions to get the Trojans deep into the rezone. Maiava then threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Ford in the final seconds to secure a 35-31 USC win. 

USC started and finished their 2024 campaign with thrilling wins in Las Vegas over SEC teams. 

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