USC Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava had a rough start to the Las Vegas Bowl, throwing three interceptions. But the way he finished, highlighting the Texas A&M Aggie’s defensive deficiencies on the back end, enraged head coach Mike Elko after the game.
Mike Elko Not Pleased, Takes Shot At Texas A&M Pass Defense — Let’s Break it Down
Just over midway through the third quarter in the Las Vegas Bowl, the Aggies held a 24-7 lead over the Trojans. From then on, USC staged the biggest bowl game comeback in program history, eventually pulling out a 35-31 win.
In doing so, USC quarterback Maiava threw three of his four touchdown passes in the final 19 minutes of game time, culminating in the game-winning touchdown with eight seconds on the clock.
The loss dropped Texas A&M to 8-5. Beginning the season 7-1 and harboring College Football Playoff hopes, the Aggies faltered down the stretch with a 1-4 finish to the season.
As for the reason they lost this game — and weighed them down in others — head coach Mike Elko put the blame on the pass defense.
“I think the story of the game is the story of our season, you know,” Elko said. “We can’t cover the forward pass well enough to be a good football team, and so that’s my fault. Yeah, I mean, I have a lot of apprehension when the other team’s going to drop back and throw the ball.”
Down 24-7, that’s exactly what Maiava and the Trojans would do.
On the night, Maiava’s stat line wasn’t the prettiest. Completing 22 of 39 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns, he also threw three interceptions.
But those three interceptions were deceiving.
Maiava clearly forced the ball into double coverage on the first and third picks when he didn’t need to. The defense, in Cover 1 on both plays, had man coverage underneath with a safety over the top. Maiava lolly-popped both throws easily into the hands of the cornerback and safety, respectively. A definite quarterback error.
Following the third pick, ESPN commentator Brock Osweiler, a former quarterback himself, explained to the viewers, “No one’s open. This is a football that just needs to be thrown away.”
On Maiava’s second interception, which resulted in an Aggie touchdown just three plays later, Texas A&M outside linebacker Cassius Howell tipped the ball — meant to be a wide receiver screen to the left — into the air and his own arms before being tackled by the Trojan quarterback at USC’s nine-yard line.
what a play by Cash 👏#GigEm | #BTHOusc pic.twitter.com/W4y5XCg2YO
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) December 28, 2024
While those go down as three interceptions on the stat sheet, they are 1) clear mental errors on the quarterback’s part and 2) an extremely athletic play from a rushing outside linebacker, not a defensive back.
Elko didn’t reference those plays once in his post-game presser, focusing instead on his disappointment with the pass defense.
When asked what they need to clean up come 2025.
“So many things. Fundamentally… we can’t play zone coverage. Every time we play zone coverage, we give up big plays,” he said. “So we have no concept of space. We have no concept of zone coverage.”
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He may have been referencing Maiava’s second touchdown on the night, which sparked the beginning of the comeback.
From the Aggies’ 17-yard line, down 24-7 late in the third quarter, the USC quarterback eyed the defense.
The look? Starting with two high safeties, one began to roll at the snap. The cornerbacks dropped, a clear sign of cover three. For reference, the weak spots of a cover three defense are the seams in between the cornerbacks and the middle safety.
It’s not, or shouldn’t be, right before the safety.
But that’s exactly where USC wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane found space after running an angle route toward the goal line. Normally, this would result in a big hit by the safety — or, at best, an interception.
But Maiava lobbed a ball to the wide-open Lane who, bracing for contact, fell into the end zone, untouched. Lane had at least five yards of space between himself and the Aggie safety.
The Trojans answer back with a quick 3-play drive!
Maiva to Lane … again!
3Q: @AggieFootball 24, @uscfb 14#LVBowl | #FightOn | #GigEm pic.twitter.com/f35oe5Easw
— SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl (@LasVegasBowl) December 28, 2024
Coach Elko, proved correct.
Elko explained what happens when zone coverage doesn’t work for them.
“So we have to play man-to-man all the time. And we had some guys in there filling in some roles today that got caught in a lot of man-to-man situations and that was hard for them.”
Each of Maiava’s three other passing touchdowns came against a form of man coverage.
In the second quarter, down 7-0 and at the A&M 30-yard line, the Aggies ran Cover 1 — man coverage underneath with one high safety. USC’s response was a perfectly-play, dialed-up “pick” in which USC receiver Lane lined up in the slot to the right before making a beeline across the line of the scrimmage to the left.
Receiver Kyle Ford got in the way, setting a “pick” on Lane’s defender, freeing up immediate space. Maiava dropped the ball off and let Lane do the rest, untouched until inside the ten, easily running in for the 30-yard score, his first of three on the night.
🎱 @cantGuardJak1 pic.twitter.com/OstRtMktvM
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) December 28, 2024
It wasn’t a good look for the Aggies’ defense.
The next example?
In a third-and-eight situation at the Texas A&M 15-yard line, USC trailed 24-21 with under five minutes to go in the game. It was an essential play for both teams; if A&M holds, they’d likely get the ball in a tie game. But a mental error on the back end of the Aggie defense killed those chances.
On the play, Texas A&M rushed four and dropped into a two-high safety look with man coverage underneath on the four receivers and one running back in the backfield.
Lane, lined up as the single receiver on the right, ran a bang-post — a route similar to a slant, but usually cut diagonally between 8-10 yards instead of the usual 3-5. He beat his defender on the cut and split the safeties for a rather easy, pitch-and-catch go-ahead touchdown.
1 … 2… 3 TDs … for Ja’Kobi Lane!@uscfb takes the lead late!#LVBowl | #FightOn | #GigEm pic.twitter.com/PuccoktASr
— SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl (@LasVegasBowl) December 28, 2024
After Texas A&M and Marcel Reed marched all the way down the field to take the lead, 31-28, 1:49 remained on the clock as the Trojans came back onto the field.
Elko mentioned his apprehension when knowing that a team would drop back and throw the ball. Even as the head coach, with the ability to call the shots, he must have felt helpless on USC’s final possession, watching Maiava put on a clinic.
Completing eight of his nine passes for 81 yards and the winning touchdown, Maiava absolutely carved up the Aggies’ defense.
The final play highlighted just how dialed in he was and the continued problems the A&M defense was having.
From seven yards out, with 12 seconds showing on the clock, USC lined up two receivers on each side. Lane, the star of the night with seven catches for 127 yards and three touchdowns to that point, was situated in the slot to the left. Ford was the outside receiver on that side.
Showing two high safeties — whose heels were on the goal line — and man coverage underneath, the Aggies looked determined to finally stop the Trojans offense.
USC head coach Lincoln Riley dialed up another beauty of a play.
Lane ran a slant-and-go, occupying his defender and forcing the near-side safety to take multiple small yet extremely costly steps backward.
Maiava, seeing this, showed improved patience from earlier in the game. On two of his interceptions, he’d locked onto one receiver.
This time, seeing Lane’s route taken away, his eyes migrated ever so slightly to the left. What he saw was Ford running a slant with a flat angle, the point being to acquire inside leverage in goal-line situations quicker than a normal slant.
And he did just that, getting inside leverage on Aggies’ true freshman cornerback Dezz Ricks. The ball was placed perfectly for Ford, who waltzed into the end zone.
.@jayden_maiava to @Ford_Kyle6 ✌️
FOR. THE. WIN. pic.twitter.com/RmyP3iGb2w
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) December 28, 2024
Game, effectively, over.
While Aggies quarterback Reed threw two interceptions of his own, Elko is largely correct in his postgame statements.
The inability to play zone coverage. The inability to execute man-to-man coverage. The inability to shut down Lane until the very last play. Elko put a cherry on top, saying, “We have no concept of what we’re doing.”
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