Lincoln Riley has found himself in a tricky position this week. He has been defending his quarterback after a tough road loss. The Trojans fell 34-32 to the Fighting Illini on September 27th in a game that exposed both Jaden Maiava’s resilience and his limitations in the same breath. USC was in Illinois territory when Maiava threw his first interception of the season to linebacker Dylan Rosiek in the third quarter. With this, he snapped his streak that had lasted 132 passes, going back to last year. Then came the follow-up series where he missed a couple of open receivers, and suddenly the questions started piling up about whether the redshirt junior could handle adversity in a hostile Big Ten environment.

But Riley wasn’t having any of that narrative. “He had two tough series in a row,” Riley acknowledged during his appearance on Trojans Live. “We were driving and then had the pick and then missed a couple of guys in the next series. But honestly, I mean, I wasn’t very worried in the moment just because that’s what he’s done in all of his starts for us, even going back to last year, when he’s had a stretch that maybe wasn’t his best. Like he’s always responded, and it did not surprise me one bit.” 

And that confidence is not misplaced. Even after an interception and a couple of failed series, Maiava went on to finish 30-of-43 for 364 yards and two touchdowns. The only unfortunate thing is that those missed drives came at a critical juncture in the game. USC trailed most of the time against Illinois, and when they were trying to claw back, Maiava was intercepted and then missed the next two series. Maiava has been such an elite quarterback this season, with a 70.5% completion rate and just one interception throughout five games, that his lapses stand out precisely because of how rare they are.

Lincoln Riley’s next comments revealed what separates Maiava from some of the other quarterbacks who’ve struggled under pressure. “He was fine on the sideline. He was mad that he missed a couple of those, but he was also in a great place mentally,” Riley said. “And I think he’s done what he’s done his whole time, maybe even snapped out of it and was able to kind of right the ship, maybe even a little bit faster than in year one.” And that mental fortitude shouldered USC’s comeback and a lead change. The only problem? USC’s defense was not able to handle one more stop. But Maiava did put his team on the brink of victory.

The USC coach doubled down on his quarterback’s performance in that chaotic Memorial Stadium environment. “The guy, every time he starts a game, he gives us a chance to win. He’s every single game that he’s played for us, you know, he’s given us a golden opportunity to win the football game.” Yes, Maiava is all that Lincoln Riley said he is. But through this five-game stretch, Maiava has faced zero top-100 pass defenses, and when Illinois finally bought in the heat, he and the entire USC team fell to it. Lincoln Riley’s system has always been brilliant for quarterbacks, and right now, Maiava is brilliant. But the game demands just a little bit more from him and the entire team.

Cleaning up the perimeter mess before Michigan

Lincoln Riley didn’t sugarcoat the defensive breakdown against Illinois, and he made it clear that fixing the perimeter is job one heading into the Michigan game. “Well, don’t give up the biggest thing is don’t give up two perimeter plays for I don’t know what, whatever they ended up being huge chunk yardage plays,” Riley said, referencing the back-breaking 64-yard swing pass touchdown and the 61-yard explosion when cornerback Braylon Conley fell down on a hitch route. Those two plays were game-changing as they accounted for 125 yards and flipped the entire script, especially when USC wanted stops desperately. 

The Kamari Ramsey situation added another layer of complication that Riley knows won’t be an issue going forward. “Obviously, it hurt us not having you know one of the best safeties in the country that that morning, all of a sudden, can’t play,” Riley admitted, acknowledging that losing his starting safety right before kickoff forced younger players into high-leverage situations they weren’t quite ready for. 

But he also credited the backups who tried their best and stepped up when the team called, saying, “I thought some of those guys, young guys, jumped in there and and and battled and and did some really nice things.” Still, though, the mismatches were noticeable, and USC has to work on its defense. They have the eighth-worst pass defense in plays surrendered of 10-plus yards. They surrender at least 10 plays per game that are of 10+ yards. So, the margin of improvement is astronomical if they want to contend for the playoffs this season.