It took USC quarterback Jayden Maiava just one half of football to earn Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors for his Week 1 performance against Missouri State.

On the field for just 30 minutes before sitting out the entire second half, Maiva led five USC touchdown drives and went 15-of-18 for 295 yards and two touchdowns passing. He also rushed for a three-yard score. The 295 yards through the air were the most first-half passing yards for a USC quarterback since Kedon Slovis threw for 347 against Arizona State in 2019.

This is the first Big Ten weekly honor for Maiava.

Maiava leads the nation in passing efficiency, yards per completion and yards per attempt after the first game of the year. He got the Trojans going with an offensive explosion that eventually led to 73 points. He’s now thrown for 295 yards in back-to-back games after hitting that exact number in a comeback win over Texas A&M in last year’s Las Vegas Bowl. He needed 39 attempts to hit that number against the Aggies.

The 73 points were the most a USC team has scored since a 74-0 win against Cal in 1930. It was also the most points a USC team has scored in the opening game of the season since a 76-0 win against UCLA in 1929.

Interestingly, this is the second year in a row a USC quarterback has been named the Big Ten offensive player of the week for the opening week of the season. Miller Moss earned it last year for his performance in a significant neutral-site win against LSU in Las Vegas. That was the only weekly conference award a USC player won last season.

Maiava and the Trojans will next take the field this Saturday. They’ll be back in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a 4:30 pm PT kickoff against Georgia Southern and former head coach Clay Helton.