That was fun. Okay, so it wasn't always fun. But winning is always fun Especially when you win on the road in the Big Ten conference and win on the road against a quality opponent.
It was far from pretty, but in the end the no. 4 Nittany Lions did what needed to be done to defeat USC. Despite finding themselves in a 20-6 halftime hole, Penn State battled back to defeat USC 33-30 in overtime at the LA Coliseum.
In the victory, Penn State showed a lot of grit. USC's slogan may be "Fight On," but the Nittany Lions were the team that never stopped fighting on Saturday afternoon. Drew Allar grew up in front of our eyes, when they needed to the defense stepped up, and
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Tyler Warren is more than just the best tight end in the country
All season long James Franklin has beat the drum for Tyler Warren being the best tight end in the country. At this point, it is obvious that he is the best tight end in college football, but Warren is much more than just that.
If Warren was not already the frontrunner for the Mackey Award that changed on Saturday. Without Warren, the Nittany Lions would not have won this game. Period. End of discussion.
Warren hauled in 17 passes, tying a single-game FBS record in receptions for a tight end, for 224 yards and a touchdown. Amazingly, the receiving stats just begin to tell the story for Warren's performance.
More than once Warren lined up at quarterback, he completed his lone pass attempt for 9 yards and in a creative play motion under center then took the snap to run for a first down. In another creative play, Warren rotated into playing center, and snapped the ball to Beau Pribula, who threw the ball backward to Allar for a double pass to Warren for a touchdown on a center eligible play. Warren also played a key role in both pass and run blocking.
There is an argument to be made that Warren is the most important player on this team. Warren will never be a true Heisman Trophy contender, but he certainly should be in the discussion because there may not be a player in college football who does as much for their team as Warren.
This was the best game of Drew Allar's career
Do not let the three interceptions fool you. Drew Allar had a tremendous game. In fact, this was the best game of his collegiate career. However, the interception numbers were a bit distorted, as one of the interceptions came on a Hail Mary at the end of the game.
Penn State never got the running game going against USC. They were in dire need of Alalr putting the team on his back and dragging them to victory, that is exactly what the junior quarterback did.
Allar finished the game 30/43 for a career-high 391 yards, 2 touchdowns, and the 3 interceptions. Allar also used his legs again, averaging a team-leading 8.0 yards per carry while rushing for 32 yards.
On Penn State's final possession in regulation, Allar was at his best. Twice he converted on 4th down, including a 4th and 10 on which he threw off balance while dodging a sack. He also used his legs on the drive. Once again, when Penn State needed him to Allar showed some moxy, was confident, and made plays.
Tip of the cap to Allar who made multiple big-time big boy throws on Saturday. It was a growing up and finally sticking it to your opponent on the road type of game for Allar, and it came when his team needed it most.
It was a flawed performance, but the defense came up big when needed
The first half of the game was a miserable one for Penn State's offense. Lincoln Riley was deep in his bag, showing why he is one of the best play callers in college football with the USC offense humming.
In the second half, the Nittany Lion defense tightened up allowing just 10 points, with 3 of those points coming via a drive that started inside the Penn State 25 due to an interception. Despite the rough start, Tom Allen's group was able to recover, and when the team needed the unit to step up and make stops they did.
There were five scenarios when Penn State's defense had to make a play. After Allar's first interception, after Allar's second interception, when Penn State tied the game at 23, following Penn State tying the game at 30, and in overtime. Outside of USC's touchdown drive after Penn State tied the game at 23, Allen's defense came up in each of these situations.
Following each of Allar's interceptions, the defense did not allow a first down holding USC to field goal attempts. At the end of the game when the Trojans could have gotten into range for a game winning field goal, Jaylen Reed intercepted a Miller Moss pass to thwart the threat. A Zane Durant tackle for a loss put USC behind the sticks in overtime contributing to a missed field goal. Again, when the defense needed to make plays they did just that.
Penn State won the special teams battle
Entering Saturday's game one area where USC appeared to have an advantage was special teams. Well, Penn State won the special teams battle and that was a big deciding factor in the team's victory.
First and foremost, give Ryan Barker all his flowers. The redshirt freshman was 3/3 on PATs and 4/4 on field goals, including a 36-yard game-winner in overtime, in Penn State's victory.
Riley Thompson punted just twice but averaged 42.5 yards per punt. Gabe Nwosu did a great job of burying kickoffs into the end zone to keep Zachariah Branch from being a threat in the return game.
Justin Lustig's group did what they needed to Saturday afternoon. A tip of the cap to the entire special teams unit. Without the strong special teams performance on Saturday afternoon, the Nittany Lions may have lost.
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