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    • Penn State takes on USC in comeback that boosts CFP hopes
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    Penn State takes on USC in comeback that boosts CFP hopes

    Madoc Meredith Posted on

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    LOS ANGELES – For a while, it looked like it would be the same old story for Penn State.

    The Nittany Lions are a potentially great team that has consistently had solid winning seasons. The red flag over the Nittany Lions was that they can’t win the big games. When the spotlight shone brightest, Penn State repeatedly failed to live up to its potential and was forced to settle in college football’s second tier.

    In its first trip out West for a Big Ten game against Southern California, it seemed like the story would stand after a double-digit halftime deficit.

    Instead of fading, Penn State showed courage, bounced right back and will leave Golden State with a 33-30 overtime win and show it has what it takes to become the program’s first College Football Playoff team be.

    “We found a way to get a tough win on the road,” Nittany Lions coach James Franklin said. “There’s still a lot of things we can improve on, but we’re 1-0 and that’s 6-0 and I’m going to take it and run to the airport.”

    Saturday’s rough start likely triggered several painful flashbacks for Nittany Lions fans, who know all too well that those few losses led to dramatic changes over the course of the season.

    Entering the contest, Penn State had given up an average of 76.2 yards per game on the ground. USC nearly got it done on one play when running back Quinten Joyner faked a putback and outran the defense all the way to the end zone for a 75-yard score, giving the Trojans an early lead. The rest of the first half was all about USC, with big plays that shredded the Nittany Lions’ defense while keeping the away team out of the end zone after two quarters and taking a 20-6 lead.

    Whatever James Franklin told his team after halftime completely flipped the script. The offense stepped on the accelerator, easily scoring touchdowns on the first two drives, while the defense returned to form in the third quarter, tying the game at 20 points. Even after Drew Allar threw an interception in his own territory that led to USC retaking the lead, the Nittany Lions responded to every hit thrown at them.

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    Allar was down by a touchdown in the final minutes, but made some great throws on two plays on fourth down and found Nick Singleton wide open for a touchdown that would send the game into overtime. In the extra frame, Penn State’s defense tightened up and USC kicker Michael Lantz missed a 45-yarder on the first possession, paving the way for Nittany Lions kicker Ryan Barker to drill a 36-yarder for the win.

    The first half was anything but a good performance for Allar, but Franklin praised his quarterback’s poise for not letting the game slip away. He ended up throwing for a career-high 391 yards — his third game with more than 300 yards this season — as well as two touchdowns and three interceptions.

    “It wasn’t perfect for (Allar) today and he just battled through it and pushed through it, he brushed off the bad plays and moved on, and that’s what we have to do in college football,” Franklin said.

    Saturday’s victory would not have been possible without the heroic play of tight end Tyler Warren, who established himself as the best tight end in the country. He gained 50 yards on the first drive, a sign of what was to come.

    Warren finished the day with 17 catches, tying an FBS tight end record of 224 yards, highlighted by a spectacular touchdown catch that sparked the second-half comeback.

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

    Not the type to talk about himself, Warren praised the other receivers for the win. However, he gushed with pride that the rest of his teammates didn’t stay in the hole they had dug for themselves.

    “It was just a great win. It’s difficult to play against a really good team,” Warren said. “It was a tough battle that we overcame and I couldn’t be happier with the way we played and the way we fought back after the loss.”

    Not only did the win over USC help end the narrative of failure when the lights are bright, it was also the first big step toward Penn State securing one of the 12 spots in the newly expanded playoffs. Had the current system been in place when the playoffs were introduced in 2014, the Nittany Lions likely would have been in six playoffs, making Happy Valley wish it had those expanded opportunities. Now it’s time to take away.

    Of course, there is the highly anticipated home game against Ohio State in three weeks. While Nittany Lions fans would like to end their seven-game loss to the Buckeyes, a loss is no longer the end of the world. And that includes whether that means being left out of the Big Ten title game again.

    If Penn State does the rest of its business – which it has proven it is capable of doing – and finishes 11-1 without winning the Big Ten Championship, there is little doubt that come December will end up in the reveal of the bracket. Even better, there’s a great chance of hosting a game and getting a team to travel to freezing Pennsylvania and face more than 106,000 players competing against them.

    There’s still a long way to go, but at the halfway point of the season and the bye week on board, Penn State will return East in the best position it’s been in in quite some time.

    “It’s going to be a great ride home,” Franklin said.

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    Madoc Meredith
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