Why Matt Leinart Believes 'Underrated' USC Is Built for a 2025 CFP Run

Matt Leinart doesn’t want to get too excited about USC just yet, but there are many reasons why the SoCal icon is feeling particularly bullish about the 2025 Trojans and believes they can make the College Football Playoff. 

Quarterback Jayden Maiava is chief among them. 

In the latest episode of the "Joel Klatt Show," Leinart said he’s "in love" with how Maiava has played so far to start the season and believes that he resembles the quarterbacks Lincoln Riley had during his time at Oklahoma. 

"He's a pass-first guy, which I love, but he can run and make plays, so he can stress a defense," Leinart said. "He can improvise. He had a great play last week against Michigan State, where he had [two rushing] touchdowns. But he's also very good from the pocket. He's not turning the football over. 

"Lincoln finally has a quarterback, kind of like what he had [with] a Baker [Mayfield] and some of those guys in Oklahoma, that just fits everything he's doing. And now all of a sudden, we're seeing it all come to fruition."

Of course, Maiava isn’t the first talented quarterback that Riley has had in his four seasons at USC. Caleb Williams won the Heisman in Riley’s first season at USC in 2022 before becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. But Leinart explained that Maiava is a happy medium between Williams and 2024 starter Miller Moss, saying that Maiava's skill set allows the Trojans to play more within Riley’s system and run the ball more than they have in recent years. 

"I think the quarterback really matters in this discussion," Leinart said. "Woody Marks was fantastic, but they would get away and all of a sudden, it's like they're throwing the ball four or five times in a row. Like, why? Maybe there wasn't as much of a trust