Nittany Lions stage comeback, rally to beat USC, 33-30
Barker's fourth FG is difference in OT
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Penn State worked overtime to stay unbeaten Saturday.
In one of the more dramatic victories in recent Nittany Lion history, State rallied from a two-touchdown deficit at halftime and defeated USC, 33-30, in overtime before 75,250 at the Los Angeles Colesium.
The win kept the No. 4 Lions perfect at 6-0.
Tied 30-30 in overtime, Penn State won the coin toss and elected to go on defense first. Trojan kicker Michael Lantz missed a 45-yard field goal, which gave the Lions the ball -- needing just a field goal to win the game.
Placekicker Ryan Barker then nailed a 36-yarder to set off a sideline celebration.
Barker, who just became the starting placekicker last week, went 4-for-4 in field goals.
Down 30-23 in the fourth quarter, the Lions put together a clutch 12-play 75-yard drive and tied the game at 30-30 on Drew Allar's 14-yard touchdown pass to Nick Singleton with 2:53 left. The Lions converted a pair of fourth downs on completions of 16 of 17 yards to Julian Fleming.
Allar completed 30-of-43 passes for 391 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted three times.
Tight end Tyler Warren was outstanding for Penn State, catching a school record 17 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown. Warren broke DaeSean Hamilton's 14 catches set against Ohio State in 2014. His 224 yards were second behind Jahan Dotson's 242 against Maryland in 2021.
Warren also rushed once for 4 yards and completed his only pass for 9 yards.
The Lions took a 3-0 lead on their first series on Barker's 34-yard field goal after an offensive pass interference penalty had wiped out a touchdown pass on fourth down to Warren.
USC quickly answered with a 75-yard run by Quinten Martin.
The Trojans' speed continued to be a factor, and they went up 14-3 early in the second quarter on a 9-yard pass from Miller Moss to Martin after a pair of runs by Woody Marks for 49 yards.
Penn State's defense forced a pair of field goals by Lantz, who gave the Trojans leads of 17-3 and 20-6 at halftime.
Barker's 33-yard field goal in the second quarter had cut Southern Cal's lead to 17-6.
Penn State's defense had not allowed a point in the third quarter this year, and the Lions kept that statistic alive.
With a pair of touchdown drives, State tied the game at 20 on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Allar to Warren followed by Kaytron Allen's 1-yard plunge.
On Warren’s TD, the Lions offered some trickeration as Warren snapped the ball out of an odd formation to backup Beau Pribula, who tossed it to Allar, who hit Warren in the end zone.
USC answered by turning Allar's second interception into Lantz's third field goal, but the Lions tied it again (23-23) on Barker's 20-yard FG with 10:50 remaining after the Trojans turned away a long PSU drive.
Southern Cal came back with nine-play, 75-yard drive capped when Moss hit Kyron Hudson for a 5-yard TD and a 30-23 lead with 5:59 left, setting the stage for the wild finish.
Penn State is idle next week before visiting Wisconsin (4-2) on Oct. 26. The Bdagers, who won at Rutgers on Saturday, visit Northwestern on Saturday.
USC, now 3-3, visits Maryland on Saturday for a 4 p.m. kickoff.
The Mirror will have a complete report in Penn State Extra in Monday's print edition.