The USC Trojans faced a formidable foe in No. 21 Iowa in Week 12 and came out strong. Owing to Jayden Maiava’s 254-yard passing performance, the Trojans clinched a deserving 26-21 victory and kept their playoff hopes alive. Now, just two games to go in the regular season, one of which also includes Oregon. How should the mindset be in an 8-2 USC’s camp?

Jayden Maiava appeared in the post-game presser and talked about the approach the team is taking for the rest of the two games. Especially since winning both games is crucial to maintain playoff contention. “Have you been approaching these last few weeks like playoff games?” asked a reporter.

Maiava, without any doubt, echoed the importance of the two games and outlined the team’s philosophy. “Honestly, we’ve just been treating it like a one-week season. Playoffs, all that. Yeah, we get it, but at the same time, it’s just a one-week season every single day. 

“You know, we just like to stay where our feet are and continue to just stack winning plays,” said Jayden. It seems a simple plan, but it sure won’t be easy to execute. Especially since Oregon is coming from a 42-13 win over Minnesota.

The Ducks are 9-1 in the season and are ranked 8th in the CFP rankings. USC, on the other hand, is 17th and currently out of the playoff contention. Beating Oregon then becomes crucial to make a deserving case for their 12-team playoff spot.

It is undoubtedly achievable since Texas will most definitely get out of the top-12 now after a defeat against Georgia’s defeat in Week 12. Along with Texas,  Alabama will also slip down a few spots after a defeat against Oklahoma. That creates space for USC.

Apart from that, Indiana and Ohio State from the Big 10 will most likely make the playoffs and can even finish undefeated. However, even if Michigan finishes with 10 wins, defeating Ohio State, USC’s head-to-head record will favor them, making the playoffs over the Wolverines.

So, currently, in the Big 10, Oregon, with a 9-1 record, seems to be the only major hurdle, and defeating them will almost certainly guarantee USC a playoff berth. Why? USC can win the last game against 3-7 UCLA easily. That said, upsetting Oregon would still be a tall task.

Is Jayden Maiava saving USC against Oregon in Week 13 due to a locker room dynamic?

According to ESPN analytics, USC has just a 28.7% chance of winning against Oregon. Moreover, since the game is on the road in Eugene, the margins become even slimmer. Antonio Morales of The Athletic touted the Oregon game to be “the biggest of Riley’s tenure,” carrying sky-high stakes.

However, according to his analysis, if USC beats Oregon successfully, USC will have a whopping 80% chance of making the playoffs. And Jayden seems ready for the challenge. To do that, he has his locker room behind him.

” The brotherhood that’s here. I want to continue to preach about how close this team is. I wish you guys were there with us to just understand what it’s like to you know be a part of a team like this, and you know just you know being there for each other. We’re each other’s support system and just you know, having each other’s back,” said Jayden after the Iowa win when asked about the secret of the “confidence” in the locker room.

Iowa’s defense entering the USC game was sixth in scoring plays and seventh in yards per play. But the team still rendered that stat useless and delivered a solid comeback after trailing 7-14 in the first half. That sure goes a long way, especially since Jayden Maiava is throwing well, too.

Against Iowa, Maiava had an impressive 71.9% accuracy and even rushed for 11 yards on 5 carries. The performance comes after his dominant showing against Northwestern, where the QB passed for 299 yards at a stellar 72.7% efficiency.

Moreover, who could forget his Michigan game, where the USC QB1 amassed 265 passing yards at 78.1% accuracy. The performances will surely help, since Oregon has the 1st ranked passing defense in the country. The team has conceded just 127.3 passing yards per game so far.