No. 4 Penn State (6-0, 3-0) rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit and overcame USC (3-3, 1-3) leads twice in the fourth quarter to defeat the Trojans 33-30 in overtime on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Kicker Ryan Barker was a perfect 4-4 on field goals, including the game-winning 36-yard kick in overtime.
Tight end Tyler Warren had a Penn State-record 17 catches for a career-high 224 yards, while quarterback Drew Allar was 30-43 for a career-best 391 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions (one of which was on a Hail Mary on the final play of regulation).
Linebacker Kobe King led Penn State with seven tackles, including one for loss, but it was safety Jaylen Reed (six tackles), who came up with the Nittany Lion defense’s one turnover on the day — a critical interception in the final seconds of the fourth quarter to force overtime.
Penn State outgained USC 518 yards to 409. The Trojans piled up 189 yards on the ground — Penn State had allowed an average of 76.2 coming into the game — but the Nittany Lion defense shut down the USC offense when it mattered most: on the Trojans’ final fourth quarter drive and then in overtime when it held the hosts scoreless.
The Nittany Lions have their second bye of the season next weekend before returning to action on Oct. 26 at Wisconsin.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After giving up one first down and forcing a USC punt on the opening drive, Penn State went to work on offense from its own 11. The Nittany Lions marched 87 yards, including 6-6 passing for 62 yards by quarterback Drew Allar, but once inside the Trojan 5, they struggled. Allar connected with tight end Tyler Warren for what would have been a two-yard touchdown catch on fourth and goal, but a questionable offensive pass interference call set Penn State back 15 yards.
The Nittany Lions settled for a 35-yard Ryan Barker field after a drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock.
USC didn’t need nearly as much time to get its first points on its second possession. Quentin Joyner took a reverse and exploited Penn State’s overpursuit to race 75 yards into the end zone. The Trojans had 7-3 lead with 4:38 left in the first quarter.
Penn State moved near midfield on its second drive but stalled out and a Riley Thompson punt put the Trojan offense on its own 11.
USC picked up two first downs and moved to its own 42 as the first quarter came to a close with the Trojans ahead 7-3.
Second Quarter
Trojan running back Woody Marks had the Penn State defense reeling to open the second quarter, breaking off runs of 28 and 21 yards to move USC to the 9. From there QB Miller Moss hit Joyner for a touchdown. USC went ahead 14-3 with 13:33 left in the half after the seven-play, 89-yard drive.
Penn State again moved to midfield on its next possession but on third and 6, Trojan linebacker Desman Stephens picked off an Allar pass and returned it to the Penn State 26. The Nittany Lion defense stiffened this time, and USC took a 45-yard Michael Lantz field goal to extend its lead to 17-3 with 10:05 remaining in the second quarter.
After the two sides traded punts, Penn State finally got back to the red zone on its next possession, thanks to Warren catches of 15 and 18 yards and an Allar scramble for 19 to the Trojan 15. But a Nick Singleton run that went for a loss and consecutive incompletions brought the drive to a halt. Barker’s second field goal of the day, this time from 33 yards, narrowed the USC lead to 17-6 with 2:46 left in the half.
USC picked up a first down before the two-minute warning, then out of the timeout Marks took a pass 33 yards to the Penn State 30. An illegal block penalty, however, wiped out a long Marks gain and put the Trojans behind the chains. USC came away with a 47-yard field goal to move ahead 20-6 at the end of the first half.
The Trojans outgained Penn State 248 to 204 in the half, with 147 of USC’s yards coming on the ground. Penn State had only allowed an average of 76.2 rushing yards per game through its first five games.
For Penn State, Allar was 12-18 for 124 yards in the half, with nine completions going to Warren for 98 yards.
Third Quarter
Penn State came out strong on offense to open the second half. Allar passes to Warren, Trey Wallace and Singleton got the Nittany Lions quickly into USC territory. Beau Pribula then lined up at quarterback and tossed it back to Allar, who launched a 32-yard pass to Warren in the end zone for the touchdown.
The five-play, 75-yard drive cut USC’s lead to 20-13 with 12:52 remaining in the third.
USC got a big play on a 30-yard pass into Penn State territory from Moss to Makai Lemon on its next possession, but a holding call on what would have been a long Duce Robinson run followed by a false start derailed the Trojans. Eddie Czaplicki’s punt pinned the Nittany Lions at their own 10.
Penn State again put together an efficient drive. After Kaytron Allen converted a third and short, Allar completed a 25 yard pass to Wallace, found Warren who rumbled for a 34-gain and connected with Omari Evans for a 16-yard gain to the Trojan 3. Two plays later, Allen punched it in for the score, and Barker’s extra point capped the eight-play, 90-yard drive to tie it at 20-20.
The Nittany Lion defense shut down the Trojans again and forced a punt. But on Penn State’s first play of the ensuing drive, USC linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold intercepted an Allar pass at the Nittany Lion 24.
USC couldn’t do much on offense, but cashed in on the turnover with a 39-yard Lantz field goal to retake the lead 23-20 as the third quarter neared an end.
Fourth Quarter
A 17-yard pass from Allar to Warren and a roughing the passer penalty against USC moved the Nittany Lions to the Trojan 25 to start the fourth quarter, and Allar hooked up with Warren again to move inside the 10. Penn State couldn’t get into the end zone, but Barker’s 20-yard field goal tied the game at 23-23 with 10:49 remaining.
Marks took a pass 11 yards, then had three carries to get USC inside the Penn State 40 on the Trojans’ next drive. A 25-yard pass from Moss to Robinson got USC inside the Nittany Lion 10, and two plays later Kyron Hudson ran it in from the 5 for a score. USC went back in front 30-23 with 5:56 remaining.
Penn State answered on its ensuing possession. Facing fourth and 7 from its own 44 with about four minutes remaining, Julian Fleming pulled in a 17-yard pass from Allar. After three straight incompletions, Allar again hit Fleming for a 16-yard gain to convert another fourth down. Following a nine-yard Allar scramble, the QB found Singleton for a 14-yard catch and run for the score.
Barker’s PAT tied it at 30-30 with 2:53 left in regulation after the 12-play 75-yard drive.
USC moved into Penn State territory as the fourth quarter wound down and appeared to be on its way to setting up a game-winning field goal attempt. But on third and 7 from the Penn State 46, Moss overthrew his receiver and Jaylen Reed intercepted the pass, returning it to the USC 49 with three seconds remaining.
Allar’s Hail Mary attempt on the final play of regulation was picked off and the game went to overtime.
Overtime
USC went on offense first and the Penn State defense came up big. Moss’s first pass attempt fell incomplete and a Marks run was thrown for a three-yard loss by Dani Dennis-Sutton. On third down, Abdul Carter hurried Moss into another incompletion.
Lantz, who had been solid all day, came on for the 45-yard field goal attempt and pushed it wide right to keep the score tied 30-30 and give Penn State a chance to win it.
The Nittany Lions picked up six yards on three plays, with Allar centering the ball on third down to give Barker a straight-ahead attempt for the winning kick. The redshirt freshman stayed perfect on the day, nailing the 36-yard field goal to give Penn State the 33-30 victory in a game it led for all of 15 seconds.
