No. 4 Penn State overcomes USC in 33-30 OT thriller behind monster game from TE Tyler Warren

Ryan Barker‘s 36-yard field goal lifted No. 4 Penn State to a 33-30 win in overtime over USC at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday.

USC’s Michael Lantz missed a 45-yard field goal try on the first possession of overtime. The Trojans were knocked back to a long kick attempt after Miller Moss was sacked for a 3-yard loss on second-and-10. On third down, it appeared that Cam Miller committed a pass interference penalty on Ja’Kobi Lane, but no call was made and USC had to kick.

The Nittany Lions tied the score at 30-30 with 2:53 left on a 14-yard pass from Drew Allar to Nicholas Singleton, finishing off a 12-play, 75-yard drive in three minutes. But that gave the Trojans plenty of time (along with three timeouts) to drive for the go-ahead field goal.

The Trojans moved the ball just past midfield in under three minutes. But Moss overthrew Duce Robinson and was picked off by safety Jaylen Reed with five seconds remaining.

Penn State trailed 20-6 going into halftime, but got back into the game on their first drive of the second half. The offense moved down the field fast, finishing off a five-play, 75-yard drive with a trick play involving tight end Tyler Warren snapping the ball and then running a route to the end zone for a touchdown.

The Nittany Lions then tied the game at 20-20 on their next possession, going 90 yards in eight plays highlighted by a 25-yard reception by Harrison Wallace III and a 34-yard pass to Warren. Kaytron Allen finished off the drive with a 1-yard TD run.

Warren finished with 17 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown, in addition to completing a pass for nine yards and rushing once for four yards. Allar threw for 391 yards, completing 30-of-43 passes with two scores and three interceptions.

For USC, Moss completed 20-of-34 passes for 220 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Makai Lemon had six catches for 73 yards.

The Nittany Lions came into the game averaging 217.8 yards rushing per game, while USC allowed 158.6 yards per game. Yet Penn State rushed for only 118 yards, led by Allen’s 56 yards on 16 carries. Meanwhile, the Trojans churned out 189 yards on the ground, with Woody Marks getting 111 yards on 20 carries. Quinten Joyner added 82 yards and a touchdown on three carries.

Penn State improves to 6-0 for the season, while USC drops to 3-3 (and 1-3 in the Big Ten). Lincoln Riley’s record versus top-5 teams also drops to 1-5 and 4-9 against ranked opponents during his tenure at Southern Cal.