He’s eager to flip script with Irish

He was on the brink of the biggest moment of his football career last November when Jayden Maiava tried firing a back-shoulder pass to the sideline and disaster struck.

- RYAN KARTJE

JAYDEN MAIAVA threw two late interceptions that resulted in Notre Dame touchdowns in 2024.

His third start at USC, to that point, had been his best, by far. While Notre Dame rolled over USC's run defense, the young quarterback kept the Trojans afloat, passing for three scores and rushing for two more in a performance reminiscent of the one that, in 2022, secured Caleb Williams his Heisman Trophy.

But then came that sideline throw in the final minutes. The pass was picked off by the Irish and returned for a touchdown. A few minutes later, having led USC back into the red zone once again, Maiava threw a second, backbreaking pick-six.

Those two interceptions, as well as his four others through four starts last season, stuck in Maiava's mind all spring and summer, as the junior dove into film study and made cutting down on turnovers and bouncing back from poor decisions a priority.

And with Notre Dame on tap once again this weekend, this time with College Football Playoffimpli-cations for both teams, the progress since their previous meeting has been palpable. Through six games, Maiava has thrown only two interceptions, while Pro Football Focus has charged him with just five turnover-worthy throws out of 172 attempts.

That improvement has made a major difference for USC's passing attack, which has so far this season been the most explosive in college football. Maiava is averaging 10.8 yards per attempt, which not only leads the nation this year, but would rank among the best over the past five years.