Ryan Barker‘s 36-yard field goal lifted No. 4 Penn State to a 33–30 win in overtime over USC at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday.
Michael Lantz missed a 45-yard field goal try on the Trojans’ first possession of overtime. USC was knocked back to a long kick attempt after Miller Moss was sacked for a three-yard loss on 2nd-and-10. On third down, it appeared that Cam Miller commited a pass interference penalty on Ja’Kobi Lane, but no call was made and USC had to kick.
The Trojans were driving toward a game-winning field goal late in the fourth quarter, moving 30 yards on seven plays in just under three minutes. But Moss overthrew Duce Robinson and was picked off by safety Jaylen Reed with five seconds remaining.
The Nittany Lions tied the score at 30–30 with 2:53 left on a 14-yard pass from Drew Allar to Nicholas Singleton, finishing off a 12-play, 75-yard drive in three minutes. But that gave the Trojans plenty of time (along with three timeouts) to drive for the winning field goal.
After the Nittany Lions tied the score at 23–23 on a 20-yard field goal by Barker, the Trojans went on a nine-play, 75-yard drive highlighted by a 25-yard toss from Moss to Robinson on 3rd-and-6 from the Penn State 34-yard line.
Penn State trailed 20–6 going into halftime, but got back into the game on their first drive of the second half. The offense moved down the field fast, finishing off a five-play, 75-yard drive with a trick play involving tight end Tyler Warren snapping the ball then running a route to the end zone for a touchdown.
The Nittany Lions then tied the game at 20–20 on their next possession, going 90 yards in eight plays highlighted by a 25-yard reception by Harrison Wallace III and a 34-yard pass to Warren. Kaytron Allen finished off the drive with a one-yard TD run.
Warren finished with 15 catches for 219 yards and a touchdown, in addition to completing a pass for nine yards and rushing once for four yards.
The Nittany Lions came into the game averaging 217.8 yards rushing per game, while USC allowed 158.6 yards per game. Yet Penn State rushed for only 101 yards, led by Kaytron Allen‘s 56 yards on 15 carries. Meanwhile, the Trojans churned out 191 yards on the ground with Woody Marks getting 113 yards on 17 carries. Quinten Joyner added 82 yards and a touchdown on three carries.
