SEATTLE -- USC is now 4-5 and at best fighting for a bottom-tiered bowl game along with the two significant rivalry games that close out the schedule.

It might seem a useful runway to get some meaningful game action for backup quarterback Jayden Maiava, who could factor prominently into the Trojans' 2025 plans depending on how everything shakes out with the roster this offseason.

So coach Lincoln Riley was asked after USC's 26-21 loss at Washington on Saturday night if that was something he would look to do the rest of the way.

It produced the shortest and most matter-of-fact response of his postgame press conference ...

"I wouldn't say that right now, no. For us right now, what we're looking at, is what is the best lineup, the best people to help us win each and every week and we're going to keep our focus there," Riley said.

The suggestion wasn't even that the Trojans need consider a full quarterback change from starter Miller Moss, who has passed for 2,555 yards, 18 touchdowns and 9 interceptions (plus 2 rushing touchdowns).

It's that if Maiava is in the plans next season -- as Moss may or may not choose to return for his final year of eligibility, if five-star quarterback commit Julian Lewis isn't ready to win the starting job as a freshman and if the Trojans don't bring in a high-profile QB transfer -- then it could be useful to see what he can do beyond the mop-up duty he got vs. Utah State, Wisconsin and Rutgers, as he's completed 8 of 11 passes for 66 yards and rushed 3 times for 27 yards and a touchdown this season.

Riley has routinely batted away questions about whether Moss' job was in jeopardy, but this wasn't that -- this was merely about whether there is any temptation to see more of Maiava given where this season stands.

But if he sticks with what he said Saturday night, it doesn't sound like that is a priority at the moment.

Maiava transferred to USC last offseason after passing for 3,085 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and rushing for 277 yards and 3 TDs as a redshirt freshman at UNLV.

As he already used his redshirt season there in 2022, there is no eligibility to protect with Maiava this season.

Meanwhile, Riley was asked how he evaluated Moss' play on a night where the redshirt junior completed 30 of 50 passes for 293 yards, 2 touchdowns and a season-high 3 interceptions. (One of those picks went off the fingertips of wide receiver Kyle Ford but could have been better thrown, one was a no-risk heave at the end of the first half and the third was a bad read straight to Washington linebacker Carson Bruener, while Moss had another potential INT dropped by a Huskies defensive lineman.)

"I thought he played pretty well in the first half, honestly. I know he ended up with two interceptions -- one's on a Hail Mary play and another is on a perfectly-thrown ball that gets just, you know, volleyball-tipped up in the air. So I thought he was pretty good in the first half," Riley said. "I thought he had a couple of loose decisions in the second half -- the third down one was the big one obviously that hurt us. I thought he made a lot of plays with his feet, some really nice escape, scramble plays in the pocket. I thought he played good.

"Obviously, the quarterback position is defined by making big plays, which he made a lot of 'em. I thought he gave our guys chances to make a few more plays that we need to make. But obviously we can't turn the ball over, and that was the biggest thing."