In my books, Christmas morning is a close second to the first slate of college football games each season. The long wait for football is finally over, and with it comes the return of our Devy Players of the Week series! If you remember from prior years, I cover the top two performances (in my opinion) at each fantasy position, every week of the college football regular season.
Week 0 was an abbreviated slate, so we don’t have a ton to choose from, but we still saw some breakout performances and surprises to kick off the 2026 season. As a reminder, this is a Devy series, so we’re focusing solely on guys with a reasonable path to NFL touches down the road. With that, let’s take a look at the standouts from yesterday’s games!
Quarterbacks
Jayden Maiava (QB – USC)
25-29, 286 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs
2 carries, 4 yards, 1 TD
Sure, it was against San Jose State, but senior QB Jayden Maiava had as close to a perfect game as one could hope for to kick things off. He finished with three total touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing) and threw just four incompletions all game. He got these numbers in just three quarters, too, as USC’s lead was large enough to sit their veteran playcaller in the fourth.
I’ve generally been in the camp that Maiava’s efficiency is mostly a product of Lincoln Riley’s fast-paced, spread offense, which relies heavily on quick, simple reads and passes. I’m still skeptical of the NFL upside here, and this game doesn’t change a ton for me, but I’m open to being wrong. There’s no denying Maiava’s production profile, leading the B1G in passing yards and scoring in 2025. Once WRs Terrell Anderson and Tanook Hines return, the ceiling will only be that much higher for the Trojans’ offense.
To access the rest of this article, login or become a member. 
