Two of the best quarterbacks in college football meet Saturday when No. 12 USC plays host to No. 20 Oregon at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. At one point, this was considered a showcase for two of the nation’s top QB prospects. Now, it’s become a crucial game for two signal callers trying to build their NFL Draft profiles.
Both USC quarterback Jayden Maiava and Oregon quarterback Dante Moore are projected to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft picks by CBS Sports NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson, but Maiava’s path is more complicated. The pair of talented quarterbacks could elevate their cases significantly with a good showing Saturday.
When these two quarterbacks met last season, Oregon outlasted USC 42-27 in Eugene. The dynamics will be much different this time around as both programs face a pivotal early season moment.
Arch Manning hasn’t looked like a first-rounder through three games in 2026, let alone a No. 1 pick
Ryan Wilson
The comparison below illustrates both their production and efficiency at a glance:
Tale of the Tape: Jayden Maiava vs. Dante Moore
|
Yards/Game |
293.3 (14th) |
283.0 (20th) |
|
Yards/Attempt |
10.2 (13th) |
9.5 (19th) |
|
Avg. depth of target |
8.3 (52nd) |
8.6 (46th) |
|
Completion % |
75.7 (7th) |
68.5 (42nd) |
|
Passing TDs |
12 (1st) |
9 (8th) |
|
INT% |
0.9% (29th) |
0.0% (1st) |
|
NFL passer rating |
136.4 (2nd) |
133.3 (4th) |
|
EPA/Play |
.219 (7th) |
.105 (50th) |
Moore has remained a relatively efficient player during his return to college football, completing more than 68% of his passes and throwing nine touchdowns with zero interceptions. However, Maiava has been substantially more explosive and effective during a light early schedule.
While playing in Lincoln Riley’s offense, Maiava has established himself as a quarterback to watch. He leads the nation with 12 touchdown passes and has hit at least 260 yards and two touchdowns in every game this season.
Maiava off to fast start
Maiava was a relatively unheralded recruit with a strong debut 2023 season under his belt at UNLV when he decided to test his luck in the transfer portal. There was little guarantee that he would ever start after joining a program with Miller Moss owning two years of eligibility and Husan Longstreet in the pipeline.
Instead, after transferring to USC, Maiava played a great deal as a sophomore and stepped into the full-time starting role as a junior. Riley does an exceptional job with transfer quarterbacks, and Maiava has emerged as a special one. The Hawaii native threw for 3,711 yards and 24 touchdowns last season.
This year, it’s the touchdown rate that’s taken the Big Ten by storm. Maiava is throwing for touchdowns on 10.4% of pass attempts, a significant improvement from 6.0% last season. It took time to pare down the new top receivers with star freshman Trent Mosley out of the lineup, but Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and Corey Simms took over late. As Maiava builds more chemistry, the offense will get more dangerous.
Big Ten play comes with plenty of new challenges, but Maiava threw for 306 yards and three touchdowns last season against Oregon. The next step? Keeping the interceptions down. He threw six picks in five ranked matchups.
More expected out of Moore
Moore made a surprising decision over the offseason by turning down the NFL Draft and returning to school. The Detroit native would have almost certainly have been the No. 2 pick in the draft, but felt he had more growing up to do in Eugene.
Through three games, Moore has struggled to live up to the lofty expectations. The senior completed only 48.3% of his passes for 191 yards during a stunning 39-31 loss to Oklahoma State. He also had a 30.8% pressure-to-sack rate, which indicates that he did a poor job of responding under pressure and getting rid of the ball.
As a freshman at UCLA, Moore was loose with the ball, throwing 11 touchdowns to nine interceptions. While he’s cleaned things up for the most part, there are times where he gets passive and conservative in an attempt to avoid mistakes. In six games against ranked opponents after September last season, Moore threw nine touchdowns and eight interceptions.
At this point, Moore has not looked the part of a consistent top-ranked quarterback prospect. The Trojans present a major opportunity for him to get back on track. Last year against USC, Moore completed 73% of his passes for 257 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in a 42-27 win. Cutting down the turnovers and tearing apart an inconsistent Trojans secondary would help get him back in good graces.
