It’s hard to succeed on the football field without strong quarterback play. The UCLA Bruins are banking on Nico Iamaleava taking a step under Bob Chesney and Dean Kennedy. UCLA’s rivals, the USC Trojans, are in a better spot under center with Jayden Maiava returning at quarterback.

Maiava showed a lot in 2025, tossing for the fifth-most passing yards in the country with 3,711 and had the fifth-highest passer rating at 89.9. Maiava threw for 24 touchdowns and rushed for another six. Maiava had a career-best 65.8% completion percentage but did throw for 10 interceptions.

Trojans Wire writer Matt Zemek is one of the many Maiava believers, holding the Trojans’ quarterback in the highest tier of Big Ten Conference quarterbacks, including slotting Maiava ahead of former Bruin Dante Moore, who is returning for his second season as a starter with the Oregon Ducks.

“Jayden Maiava will definitely be one of the top quarterbacks in the Big Ten. He was good last year and now comes back for yet another season, a wise decision relative to the NFL draft. He had Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane last season. Now he probably won’t have receivers who are as good. This will help Maiava learn how to be a better passer and “throw his guys open,” to use a football-specific turn of phrase,” Zemek said. “Some will say if the receivers aren’t as good, Maiava won’t be as good, but the point being missed there is that Maiava will have a solid, proven offensive line in front of him. This is where USC really did upgrade its coaching staff, going from Josh Henson to Zach Hanson as offensive line coach. That one move massively improved the O-line in 2025, and it’s why Maiava should have a strong 2026. The receivers are going to have time to get open, and Maiava will have the time to find them. I think Maiava is a better quarterback than Oregon’s Dante Moore. If Maiava was a Duck and Moore was a Trojan, the preseason chatter about the two guys would be different. Moore might come out looking better than Maiava only because Oregon has a better defense than USC, but if I’m drafting a quarterback, I’d take Maiava unless Moore really shows me something in 2026.”

We’ll see which of the West Coast Big Ten quarterbacks can put together the best 2026 season.

This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Big Ten quarterbacks: Is Jayden Maiava better than Dante Moore?

Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire

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By Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire | USA TODAY Network