The Nittany Lions' report card after defeating the USC Trojans

LOS ANGELES | After Penn State's stunning overtime win over USC on Saturday, coach James Franklin recommended film. Matching the Hollywood signing looming behind the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

“Have you ever seen the movie Soul Plane?” Probably not in this group,” Franklin said after the game. Take a look. Soul level. This is what it will be like on the way home.

Penn State celebrated its 33-30 overtime win over the Trojans in different directions. Walk-on kicker Ryan Barker, in his second career start, stopped Steph Curry's sleeper after hitting the game-winning field goal in overtime, his fourth of the day. “To me, this is what our country is about,” Franklin said.

Safety Jaylen Reed cried in his head coach's arms after intercepting the ball that forced overtime. “I was so overwhelmed by how proud I am,” Reed said. “It was more of a quiet scream. I'm the type of guy who's always nudging everyone else and making sure they don't cry. That hit me. It just happened. Things like that, winning a game like that, that’s brave.” A game like that made me super happy.

And a pair of Penn State players raised a flag at midfield at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a move that Franklin quickly fended off. The scene was insane, filled with a massive gathering of Penn State fans who more than lined the stadium and came to life during USC's second-half offensive attack. All in all, it was a memorable afternoon for the Nittany Lions, who defeated USC in California for the first time.

So the testimony.

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INJURY: A-

Tight end Tyler Warren said he was exhausted after a 17-catch, 224-yard performance that not only set a Penn State record for receptions but also the record for catches against USC. Warren was unassailable, unstoppable and touched the ball twice on Penn State's decisive play. On the first drive of the second half, Warren hit the ball from an unbalanced line to Beau Pribula, ran a seam route and caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Drew Allar (which Pribular had thrown). As Warren said, the play illustrated Penn State's offensive coordinator's ethos before the game. “That’s what we’ve been preaching all week,” Warren said, “not to play conservative but to be aggressive, so I thought we did a great job with that.”

Quarterback Drew Allar threw off two tough interceptions, the second after Penn State tied the game, and led the offense to 10 points in the fourth quarter. He completed two long throws to Julian Fleming, who blocked a drop that he said was “definitely a big punch in the chest.” Allar went 30 for 43 for 391 yards and two touchdowns and led scoring drives of 75, 90, 72 and 75 yards in the second half. For an offense that scored just six points in the first half after reaching USC's red zone twice, the goal was proof that they believed in coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.

DEFENSE: B

USC confused and frustrated Penn State's offense in the first half with the combination effort of Woody Marks and Quinten Joyner, who thwarted the Nittany Lions' back seven. Joyner recorded the longest offensive play against Penn State this season, a 75-yard touchdown run, and Marks rushed for 111 yards, 70, in the first half. But the Nittany Lions recalibrated, making key stops in the third quarter and, most importantly, they held USC to a field goal after Allar was intercepted on a short field. Reed's interception ended the final possession, which USC nullified by not calling timeouts, and Dani Dennis-Sutton made a determined tackle for loss in overtime to force USC into a field goal attempt that kicker Michael Lantz missed . USC scored just six points on Allar's first two interceptions, which proved to be the Penn State defense's most significant tally of the day.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A

Kicker Ryan Barker is a tremendous story. The redshirt freshman became the first Division I football player in Kennett High School history. He challenged Sander Sahaydak for the starting spot in training camp (Franklin even said that Barker originally won it) before giving the start of Game 1 to Sahaydak. But Barker was successful in his two starts, both against Big Ten schools California. He went 4-for-4 against the Trojans and scored from 34, 33, 20 and 36 yards. Nothing special, but extremely useful given the circumstances. Franklin led Penn State's overtime series primarily with the intent of allowing Barker to make the final play. “It’s exactly how I imagined it would be every time I thought about it, even as a kid,” Barker said. “It was just a great feeling to be able to do it.”

Franklin then hugged his kicker during the postgame interview, which CBS trimmed to avoid some gushing.

Among the underrated special teams stats: Punter Riley Thompson placed both attempts inside the 20 and, more importantly, prevented USC's Zachariah Branch from attempting a return.

COACHING: B+

Kotelnicki had a great day, from his highly entertaining multi-formation opener, Warren in the Wildcat and the ever-popular Vege Ioane move, to his final impromptu series of regulation. The decision to stay aggressive and keep going paid off, as did the decision to go for a 4th-and-7 with 4:27 and two timeouts remaining. Additionally, Kotelnicki got Warren into a zone and kept him there by designing series around the most dynamic tight end in the country.

Defensive coordinator Tom Allen once again had a difficult start against USC's movement, but, as usual, improved in the third quarter. Penn State hadn't allowed a point in the third quarter before Saturday; The fact that the defense only allowed a field goal after Allar's short-field interception in the third quarter was a pivotal moment. Overall, Franklin and his associates discussed the conversation about the West Coast trip.

OVERALL: A-

This was the most entertaining Penn State game in years, one with lead changes, explosive plays on both sides, excitement, surprising coaching maneuvers and Tyler Warren. “I’ll take it and walk to the airport,” Franklin said. Good decision.