Maiava throws 5 TD passes, No. 14 Southern California beats Louisiana 49-30

Updated Sep. 13, 2026 2:18 a.m. ET

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jayden Maiava threw two of his five touchdown passes to freshman tight end Mark Bowman, freshman receiver Trent Mosley caught a touchdown pass and scored on a punt return, and No. 14 Southern California beat Louisiana 49-30 on Saturday night.

The Trojans (3-0) concluded their cupcake nonconference by amassing 494 yards, with Maiava completing 19 of 29 passes for 261 yards with an interception.

Lunch Winfield threw for 212 yards and rushed for 91 yards with three total touchdowns, Steven Blanco added a scoring run, but the Ragin’ Cajuns (1-1) couldn’t take advantage of early opportunities to hang around.

USC broke the game open with two highlight reel plays late in the second quarter. Louisiana safety Maurion Eleam couldn’t hold onto Maiava’s pass after it hit him in the hands, and it redirected straight to freshman wide receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt for a 19-yard touchdown and a 21-10 lead.

Mosley then stepped out of one tackle and shook off another before racing 86 yards on the punt return for a TD with 1:24 remaining in the half.

The takeaway

Louisiana: Cornerback Avery Demery gave the Cajuns a dream start by coming up with the first interception Maiava had thrown this season on the Trojans’ opening possession, but the offense only turned it into Tony Sterner’s 47-yard field goal. Such wastefulness in the first half prevented Louisiana from dragging USC into a dogfight.

USC: Explosive runs were hard to come by in the Trojans' first two games, but they had eight gains of at least 10 yards against the Cajuns. King Miller had five such scampers, finishing with 128 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Not being able to run the ball when they have needed to has cost USC multiple conference wins in the past two seasons, so they will need the ground game to continue to develop.