USC names Miller Moss starting QB: Holiday Bowl star will succeed Caleb Williams for Week 1 showdown vs. LSU

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USC has named Miller Moss its starting quarterback following a lengthy battle that bled into preseason camp. Moss served as Caleb Williams’ backup during the last two seasons and made his lone start in the 2023 Holiday Bowl against Louisville, where he set a bowl record with six touchdown passes as part of a 372-yard day in the 42-28 victory. 

Moss was viewed as the heavy favorite to succeed the former Heisman Trophy winner and beat out UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava, who joined the Trojans after originally committing to Georgia out of the portal. Maiava passed for 3,085 yards with 17 touchdowns during his true freshmen campaign for the Rebels.

“Miller had the best spring,” coach Lincoln Riley said at Big Ten Media Days. “There’s no question if we were playing at that point that he would have been the starter.”

Moss, a former four-star prospect from the 2021 recruiting cycle, enrolled at USC before Riley’s arrival to Southern California from Oklahoma. Moss saw limited action during his first three seasons and completed 43 of 59 passes for 542 yards and three touchdowns in a reserve role before his breakout bowl performance.

Two weeks before the Holiday Bowl, USC five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson, who many viewed as a top candidate to become Williams’ replacement, entered the transfer portal and enrolled at Boise State. Nelson just lost the starting quarterback competition to Maddux Madsen and will start this season as the backup.

USC opens up the 2024 season, its first as a member of the Big Ten, against LSU in Las Vegas on Sept. 1.