Meeting for just the fourth time ever and the first time since 1977, Southern California and Texas A&M will clash on Friday in the Las Vegas Bowl.
USC (6-6) returns to the Las Vegas Bowl for the first time since 2013 when the Trojans routed Fresno State 45-20, capping a 10-win season.
The stakes are different for USC this time, as the team comes in looking to avoid a third sub-.500 finish since 2018. The program has not endured three losing seasons over such a limited stretch since finishing below .500 four times from 1957 through 1961.
Despite suffering a 49-35 loss to rival Notre Dame on Nov. 30, however, the Trojans gained positive momentum down the stretch after a late-season bye week when Jayden Maiava took over as starting quarterback.
Maiava replaced Miller Moss, who threw 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions starting the first nine games. USC also dropped five one-score games over that spell.
With Maiava starting at quarterback, the Trojans won one-score games against Nebraska, 28-20, and at crosstown rival UCLA, 19-13. Maiava led late-game touchdown drives to seal both.
“I’m trying to be an energy-creator for my team, do the best I can for my team. I hope they understand that I’m here for them, and I’m going to do anything to put them in the best situation to win games,” Maiava said. “I’m still learning. The biggest thing for me is just be able to not turn over the ball.”
Maiava has thrown for seven touchdowns and rushed for three in the past three games, but also thrown three interceptions — all returned for touchdowns. In his return to Allegiant Stadium, where he played home games with UNLV before transferring to USC, the Henderson, Nev., native will strive to avoid similar issues against Texas A&M.
He will also be throwing to a much different corps of pass-catchers. Starting wide receivers Duce Robinson, Kyron Hudson and Zachariah Branch all entered the transfer portal, along with change-of-pace running back Quinten Joyner.
Starting running back Woody Marks opted out of the game.
Texas A&M (8-4) embarks on its first-ever Las Vegas Bowl with considerably less roster tumult. Starting wide receiver Cyrus Allen ended the transfer portal, but the Aggies otherwise return a corps of primary contributors hoping to rebound from a disappointing final month of the regular season.
The Aggies were once 7-1 and in contention for the College Football Playoff. A 1-3 November, with the lone win coming against New Mexico State, spoiled their bid for the 12-team tournament.
They dropped a pair of heartbreakers to close the regular season with a 43-41, quadruple-overtime defeat Nov. 23 at Auburn, and a 17-7 loss to rival Texas on Nov. 30.
The difficult finish to a promising first season under coach Mike Elko could have taken some of the shine off the bowl-game opportunity. However, the relative calm in Texas A&M’s roster turnover suggests otherwise.
And, according to Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed, playing against a brand name like USC, with Texas A&M having a chance to score its first-ever win over the Trojans, adds some excitement.
“Us being A&M, them being USC, it’s a really big game for us,” Reed said.
The quarterback made his first career start in the Aggies’ 2023 Texas Bowl matchup with Oklahoma State. Reed split snaps with Conner Weigman for the first half of the 2024 season before Reed took over as the full-time signal caller down the stretch.
“From then to now, I’ve grown tremendously as a football player and a leader,” Reed said. “The sky’s the limit.”
Reed completed 121 of 198 passes for 1,572 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions in the regular season. He added 501 rushing yards and six scores on the ground.
