Ryan Barker’s 36-yard field goal in overtime completed No. 4 Penn State’s come-from-behind 33-30 win over Southern California on Saturday in Los Angeles.
After losing an early 3-0 lead, Penn State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) didn’t lead again until Barker capped the first extra session with the last of his four field goals. The Nittany Lions had to battle back from a two-touchdown halftime deficit, doing so behind a prolific connection between quarterback Drew Allar and tight end Tyler Warren.
Warren was on the receiving end of 17 of Allar’s 30 completions, hauling in a 32-yard touchdown catch just after the break to ignite Penn State’s rally. Warren’s 224 receiving yards are the second most by any Penn State player, trailing only Jahan Dotson’s 242 yards against Maryland in 2021.
Allar went 30-for-43 passing for 391 yards and two touchdowns, the second of which was a 14-yard strike to Nicholas Singleton that tied the game at 30 with 2:53 left in regulation. Allar was also picked off three times.
The Trojans (3-3, 1-3) crossed into Penn State territory just after the two-minute warning. But while letting the clock tick down as it tried to get into field-goal range, USC saw its end-game strategy backfire.
Jaylen Reed intercepted Trojans quarterback Miller Moss’ deep pass attempt to keep the contest tied and force overtime. In the extra period, the Penn State defense caused a pair of incompletions and Dani Dennis-Sutton tackled Woody Marks for a loss of 3 yards, making USC kicker Michael Lantz’s field-goal attempt 45 yards.
Lantz missed, opening the door for Penn State to win.
Moss completed 20 of 34 passes for 220 yards and a pair of scores to Quinten Joyner and Kyron Hudson, respectively. Joyner powered USC to its early lead with a monster first half that featured a 75-yard rushing touchdown and a 9-yard TD reception.
Marks rushed for 111 yards on 20 carries in the loss.
–Field Level Media
