3 Las Vegas Bowl takeaways: Ex-UNLV QB leads USC to dramatic win

Here are three takeaways from USC’s 35-31 Las Vegas Bowl victory over Texas A&M in front of 26,671 fans Friday night at Allegiant Stadium:

1. Sleeping beauty

It looked for much of the night as if the latest installment of the Las Vegas Bowl would be a real snoozer.

Instead, it might have just been a quick nap to rest for a wild finish that saw three lead changes in the final five minutes.

USC (7-6) took its first lead, 28-24, with 4:30 to play when Ja’kobi Lane caught his third touchdown of the day from quarterback Jayden Maiava from 15 yards.

Marcel Reed had an answer for Texas A&M (8-5), as the quarterback kept the ball on a beautiful play-fake and ran 19 yards for a touchdown and 31-28 lead with 1:49 left.

That was all just to set up the moment for Maiava, a Liberty High School graduate and transfer from UNLV, to hit Kyle Ford for a 7-yard touchdown with eight seconds left.

Lane, the game’s MVP, set a Las Vegas Bowl record with his three touchdown receptions. He finished with seven catches for 127 yards.

Reed threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns but was intercepted twice. He completed a pass with two seconds remaining that ended up being lateralled several times, but the play eventually fizzled out and the game was over.

Texas A&M led 24-7 with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter after Reed’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Jabre Barber, but USC’s rally began when Maiava hit Lane for a 17-yard score 1:30 later.

2. The Maiava experience

In Maiava’s short time as the starting quarterback at USC, Trojans fans have experienced the wild highs of his brilliance and inexplicable lows of some of his erratic play.

It was all on display Friday.

While the former UNLV standout was very much looking forward to his Allegiant Stadium homecoming, it was more of a house of horrors until well into the third quarter.

He completed 6 of his first 19 pass attempts and was intercepted twice during that span, including a batted ball in the backfield that was hauled in by a defensive lineman inside the USC 10-yard line and led to a touchdown in the third quarter.

Things could have been even worse for Maiava at that point had he not been fortuitous on a near-disastrous play in the first quarter. He was being sacked in the backfield when he tried to throw the ball away, only to have it go backward about 10 more yards and roll out of bounds. Maiava was ruled down before letting go of the ball, so Texas A&M wouldn’t have gained possession even had it jumped on the fumble. Yet it was another ugly play on Maiava’s ledger early in his return.

Then came a frantic comeback that saw Maiava lead four touchdown drives on the final five possessions. He finished 22 of 39 for 295 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions.

Maiava led USC to a third victory in four starts to close the season after replacing Miller Moss, who has since entered the transfer portal.

3. When the fun stops

Some coaches got the memo this bowl season.

Apparently USC’s Lincoln Riley and Texas A&M’s Mike Elko weren’t on the email distribution list.

Bowl games are supposed to be a reward to cap the season for the players who have endured a grueling several months and earned the right to travel for a fun week and an exhibition game.

Now that there are two distinct tiers with the implementation of the 12-team playoff field, the other bowl games truly should be about letting loose. And it’s been happening all over the country.

Fake punts, creative play calls, multiple overtimes, throwing the ball all over the field and rolling the dice on fourth down have been the norm for the first couple of weeks.

Until most of Friday night. While the final 20 minutes were a roller-coaster ride, much of the night was more of a stroll in a quiet park.

Elko decided to punt on fourth-and-1 from his 34 in the first half. But he wasn’t alone.

Not to be outdone, Riley ran the ball three straight times after getting a first-and-10 at the Texas A&M 31-yard line by way of a roughing-the-passer penalty with 1:48 left in the second quarter. The Trojans showed no sense of urgency and let the clock run all the way down before attempting a field goal in the closing seconds.

Of course, the kick sailed wide, and the score remained tied 7-7 at halftime.

Elko again chose to punt on fourth-and-1 from his 43 early in the fourth quarter.

After getting the ball back on an interception, Texas A&M ran the ball up the middle on third-and-5 for a gain of 1 yard to set up a field goal.

No need to even give away the ending, but it was, of course, missed.

He might want some of those decisions back right about now.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.