Penn State's perfect season remains intact after a "strong" win over USC

Michael Cohen

College football and college basketball writer

LOS ANGELES – High above the sun-drenched lawn of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where a 36-yard field goal from kicker Ryan Barker gave No. 4 Penn State an overtime victory over USC, the Nittany Lions' cheers poured out down to the guest trainers' stand in the hallway. Out came offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and his placemat-sized game card that contained more magic and sleight of hand than an improved Trojans defense could handle. The hand-clapping hugs between Kotelnicki and his fellow coaches echoed in the press box. “Let's f—— go, baby!” someone shouted. And the howls of joy that accompanied a 33-30 overtime victory in which Penn State trailed by double digits began to echo through the elevator shaft as they descended six flights of stairs to the field.

The scene that awaited them was one of catharsis mixed with hope and possibility about what this Penn State team, which improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten, could achieve in the first year of an expanded college -Football playoffs could achieve what they are apparently suitable for. Quarterback Drew Allar, who completed 30 of 43 passes for a career-high 391 yards and two touchdowns, waved his arms from his waist to well above his sweat-drenched hair as he implored the Nittany Lion faithful in a lower corner to roar that Stadium. “Light up!” Allar shouted. “Light up!” Fans responded by greeting tight end Tyler Warren, who set a new school record with 17 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown, with a line of high-fives along the front row of seats and a cheer that called his name in admiration shared. “Ty-ler War-ren! …Ty-ler War-ren!” they sang.

And out near midfield, where defensive end Amin Vanover raced toward the intertwined “SC” logo and charged emphatically after Barker's game-winning goal, head coach James Franklin hijacked an attempted flag break that started with defensive tackle Hakeem Beamon and cornerback Audavion continued Collins before cooler heads prevailed. So it happened that Franklin, who had almost lost his voice due to his screams during the game, held a huge “We Are” banner in his hand on the way to the tunnel.

“We found a way to get a tough win on the road,” Franklin said. “This will make the farewell week great because without that it wouldn’t have been great. I'm just proud of our boys and thanks again to the fans and the support we've gotten and we'll have to spend this farewell week. “It'll get better this week. There are still a lot of things we can get better at (six games in a row and that's 6-0). And I'll accept it and run to the airport.

“You’ve ever seen the movie Soul level? … This is what it will be like on the ride home.”

Franklin understood the snatch-and-grab undertones of a game in which his team trailed by 14 points twice in the first half. The Penn State-led defense was torn apart by USC's tailback tandem Woody Marks and Quinten Joyner, who combined for 193 yards and a score on 23 carries. The Nittany Lions lost the turnover battle 3-1 as Allar, who entered the weekend having thrown just three career interceptions, including just a single INT this season, threw three on Saturday afternoon alone. Penn State also ended up on the wrong side of the field position battle, giving up 7.1 yards per play to an offense that couldn't score more than 17 points in a disheartening road loss to Minnesota last week. These were the micro-elements of a quasi-heist in which the guests never took the lead in the second, third or fourth quarter.

But everyone associated with Penn State was keenly aware of the larger context surrounding Saturday's game, which was technically a matchup between the No. 4 team in the country and an unranked opponent, which could have just as easily become a top-10 showdown if not for a questionable official decision on a fourth-down sneak that sank the Trojans against the Gophers. They knew that Big Ten teams that traveled across two or more time zones were only 1-8 so far this season, marking the conference's first with a West Coast contingent. They knew that Franklin had devoted part of his weekly press conference to railing against the travel difficulties associated with a shorter runway at State College Regional Airport, which required the Nittany Lions to drive 90 minutes to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, before flying to California a day earlier than normal. They knew that Penn State had won 21 of 22 games over the last two seasons against teams not named Michigan and Ohio State, meaning any loss to anyone other than the Wolverines or Buckeyes would raise more questions about where that was Program in a recent conference added two more historic powers in USC and Oregon. They knew that a favorable schedule for 2024 gave the program its best chance of reaching the College Football Playoff in years, perhaps ever, as long as stupid losses were avoided. And now the Nittany Lions are expected to be favorites in every game the rest of the year except for a home game against Ohio State on November 2nd.

“You have to find different ways to win over the course of a season,” Franklin said. “Some of them will be bangers – hopefully more of them will be bangers – but some of them will be a comeback. Some will have home games where you have the fans and they support you. For some it will be like this. Be on the street where things are going against you and you don't have much support in the stadium. Maybe the weather or whatever it is, the word “resilient” was probably the best way to define our team today.

Allar showed resilience, responding to a third-quarter interception with back-to-back scoring drives of 72 yards and 75 yards to tie the score with 2:53 left and a 14-yard connection to force the jam by Nicholas Singleton over time. Warren was resilient, overcoming one vicious tackle after another as he lined up at tight end, running back, wide receiver, quarterback and even center and pulled off a brilliant trick play that saw him snatch the ball and then score a 32-yard touchdown caught. Penn State's defense was resilient and continually rose to the occasion in critical moments, allowing just six points on three turnovers, two of which gave USC the ball on the edge of the red zone.

And there was resilience from Barker, a former walk-on who has made all six of his field goals since Franklin switched kickers two weeks ago, including a 4-for-4 performance against the Trojans. He buried the overtime winner from 36 yards and was immediately surrounded by his teammates as catharsis, hope and possibility collided.

“We did it,” Warren said. “And I couldn’t be happier with the way we played and the way we fought back after a loss. It was just a great win.”

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports, with a focus on the Big Ten. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.

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