PSU escapes USC behind Warren’s 17-catch day

LOS ANGELES — Nearly seven years ago, James Franklin watched a USC kicker split the uprights in Pasadena as the clock hit zero and Penn State squandered a 17-point fourth-quarter lead to lose the Rose Bowl Game.

On Saturday, just a handful of miles west of the storied venue, Franklin found himself doing the same. This time, however, it was at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and it was his kicker, Ryan Barker, who converted a 36-yarder in overtime to beat USC 33-30 and keeping No. 4 Penn State’s undefeated season alive.

The kick capped the Nittany Lions’ comeback after they trailed 20-6 at halftime.

“We found a way to get a tough win on the road,” Franklin said. “I’m going to take it and run to the airport.”

Though Barker’s laces sent the Nittany Lions on the long trip back to Happy Valley with a smile on their faces, it was tight end Tyler Warren who carried the offense — and team — on his back Saturday.

“Game saver,” cornerback A.J. Harris said of Warren. “We really needed him today.”

To be able to save the game from an upset, Warren needed to break it. And he did, catching 17 passes for 224 yards, tying the FBS record for most catches by a tight end in a game and posting the second-most receiving yards in school history.

Coming into this game, Warren had never had double-digit receptions in a game.

“I’ve been talking about him being the best tight end in college football,” Franklin said. “But the reality is, he’s now part of a conversation on one of the best players in all of college football.”

Warren gave the Trojans’ revamped defense fits all game long. When they didn’t cover him, he made them pay. When they tried to cover him, he still found his way to the ball like a magnet. There was no stopping Warren on Saturday, but the Trojans couldn’t even begin to contain him. And that’s just what he did in his normal role — a position he had only started playing once he arrived at Penn State.

Elsewhere, Warren was a Swiss Army knife. In what was perhaps the play of the game, Warren lined up as the center. He snapped the ball to backup quarterback Beau Pribula, who lateraled it to starter Drew Allar, who then found Warren in the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown.

“Actually, my first position I ever played in football was center my first year of flag,” Warren said postgame. “I’ve thrown the ball 17 times in high school, but I never [had 17 catches]. … So yeah, it was fun.”

Warren also ran the ball for 4 yards on one play and even had a pass himself — a 9-yard completion that resulted in a first down for the Nittany Lions.

While the Penn State offense got off to a slow start against the Trojans, scoring only six points via two field goals in the first half, there wasn’t too much that was conservative about offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s game plan Saturday. He tried trick plays at will, moved skill position players around like chess pieces and left the revamped USC defense under D’Anton Lynn looking, at times, confused. Warren was at the center of Kotelnicki’s madness and in the second half, the unit found their stride, gaining over 300 yards and scoring 24 points. Allar, who had thrown two second-half interceptions, totaled 391 yards and two touchdowns by the end of the game.

“Coach K, Coach Franklin, they never lost faith in me,” Allar said. “We always talk in the QB room, to keep shooting. Keep shooting no matter what. Some things aren’t going to go your way. But it’s about how you bounce back.”

“I feel like our offense has stepped up a lot since last year,” Warren said. “Playing to win was something we preached on all week, not playing conservative, being aggressive. We did a great job”

It helped, too, that as Franklin and Co. made their way west, plenty of Penn State fans who were either local or made the trip peppered the stadium in bright white Saturday.

“Once we started making some plays, you could feel our Penn State presence in the stadium,” Franklin said.

USC coach Lincoln Riley took responsibility for the Trojans blowing a 14-point halftime lead. With his Trojans falling to 3-3, Riley said they have had a chance to win all six games despite playing one of the hardest schedules in the country

“To put yourself in position to win these games is friggin’ hard to do to begin with,” he said. “I get it. We have to do a better job at the end of games, I have to do a better job. We’ve got to be able to finish, and it all falls on my shoulders. That’s why they call me the head coach.”

Before the game, Riley had asked Trojans fans to bring the energy. But by the time Barker, a former walk-on, had won the game with his left foot and the stands had mostly emptied out of cardinal and gold, a gleeful Franklin and his team celebrated as if they were right at home.