USC’s Riley Weighs In on MSU QB Aidan Chiles

When Michigan State and No. 25 USC kick off late Saturday night, it will be a clash between two teams that have a lot of confidence in their starting quarterbacks.

For the Trojans, it'll be Jayden Maiava, who has statistically been the best quarterback in the Big Ten so far. He's fifth nationally in passing yards (989) and first in college football for yards per attempt (14.1).

MSU, of course, has Aidan Chiles --- a Long Beach, California native. He's in his second year starting for the Spartans and has made a nice jump so far from last year, improving his accuracy and also just making better decisions with the ball when he throws. He's also improved as a runner.

On Friday, USC head coach Lincoln Riley --- probably the best developer of quarterbacks in college football --- spoke to reporters and fielded a question about Chiles. Riley had some good things to say about how Chiles helps out Michigan State's offense.

“I think it’s the biggest challenge that we’ve faced up to this point in terms of the quarterback and the offense and just how all those complementary pieces fit," Riley said.

It makes sense that Riley might be high on Chiles' abilities, since he recruited him a little bit. Chiles said earlier this week that the Trojans were one of the other teams that were talking to him while he was in the transfer portal following his freshman year at Oregon State and Jonathan Smith's departure for MSU.

A couple of weeks after Chiles committed to Michigan State, USC and Riley picked up Maiava out of the portal from UNLV, which is certainly also working out.

On Chiles' Athleticism

One of the big points that Riley focused on was Chiles' ability to extend or create plays with his legs, which is something he's seemed to do more often this year.

“That’s definitely an added weapon to their system," Riley said about Chiles' legs. "They’ve already got a really good system with their ability to run the football and the way that they play action and complement their entire offense is tough as it is, and when you add in Chiles’ athleticism, that definitely adds an entirely new element.

“It’ll be a big focus point for us to be able to keep him in the pocket, to contain him in there — sometimes it’s sacks, also sometimes it’s just trying to affect a guy and make him feel our presence and being able to try and bottle him up, which is a tough task.

“He’s a good athlete. He’s a good thrower. You could tell now, second year in the system, you could tell he looks certainly more comfortable as he’s progressed, which we would all expect."

Sep 13, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley stands on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Chiles' offense is going to have to put up a fair amount of points for Michigan State to have a real shot in this one; USC's offense ranks second in scoring so far this year, at 55 points per game.

Kickoff between the Spartans and the Trojans is set for 11 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on FOX.

Sep 12, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans players arrive through the Los Angeles Coliseum peristyle before the game against the Idaho Vandals. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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