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    • Penn State denies USC has a comeback boosting CFP hopes
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    Penn State denies USC has a comeback boosting CFP hopes

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

    A potentially great team that has consistently put together solid winning seasons, the red flag hanging over the Nittany Lions was that they couldn’t win the big games. When the spotlight shone brightest, Penn State consistently failed to realize its potential and was forced to settle in the second tier of college football.

    In his first trip west for a Big Ten game against Southern California, it looked like the story would stick after trailing by double digits at halftime.

    Instead of faltering, Penn State showed perseverance, struck right back and will leave Golden State with a 33-30 overtime win and show it has the makings of being the program’s first College Football Playoff team.

    “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 get better, but we’re 1-0 and that equals 6-0, and I’m going to run to the airport with it.”

    Saturday’s rough start has likely led to some painful flashbacks for Nittany Lions fans, who know all too well that those pair of losses have resulted in dramatic shifts in the direction of the season’s trajectory.

    Entering the game, Penn State had given up an average of 76.2 yards per game on the ground. USC nearly matched it on one play when running back Quinten Joyner faked a reverse and outrun the defense into the end zone for a 75-yard score to give the Trojans an early lead. The rest of the first half was all USC, with big plays breaking down the Nittany Lions’ defense while keeping the road team out of the end zone for a 20-6 lead after two quarters.

    Whatever James Franklin told his team at halftime completely flipped the script. The offense stepped on the accelerator, easily scoring touchdowns on its first two drives, while the defense turned to its former self and tied the game at 20 in the third quarter. Even after Drew Allar threw an interception in his own territory that allowed USC to regain the lead, the Nittany Lions responded to every punch thrown at them.

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

    The first half was far from a good performance for Allar, but Franklin appreciated his quarterback’s poise for not letting the game get away from him. He ended up throwing for a career-high 391 yards – his third game of over 300 yards of the season – and two touchdowns and three interceptions.

    “It didn’t go perfectly for (Allar) today, and he just went through it and pushed through it, he washed away the bad plays and moved on, and that’s what we have to do in college football,” Franklin said.

    Saturday’s victory wouldn’t have been possible without the heroic play of tight end Tyler Warren, who catapulted himself as the nation’s top tight end. He accounted for 50 yards on the opening drive, a sign of what was to come.

    Warren finished the day with 17 catches, tying a tight FBS record, for 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 with one of the best players in college football,” Franklin said.

    Not one to talk about himself, Warren credited the other recipients for getting the win. However, he was proud of the fact that the rest of his teammates didn’t stay in the hole they dug themselves.

    “This was just a great win. To come into a tough spot to play against a really good team. Warren said. “It was a rut that we had to get out of it, and I couldn’t be happier with the way we played and the way we bounced back after being down.”

    Not only was the win over USC helpful in ending the saga of faltering when the lights shine bright, it was the first big step toward Penn State claiming one of the twelve spots in the newly expanded playoff. Had the current system been in place when the playoffs were introduced in 2014, the Nittany Lions likely would have been in six of them, leaving Happy Valley wishing it had been given more opportunities. Now it’s up for grabs.

    Of course, the highly anticipated home game against Ohio State is three weeks away. Even though Nittany Lions fans would love to break the seven-game losing streak to the Buckeyes, a loss is no longer the end of the world. And that’s true even if it means being shut out of the Big Ten title game again.

    Should Penn State take care of the rest of its business — which it has shown it is capable of doing — and finish 11-1 without winning the Big Ten championship, there is little doubt that it will find itself in the final round in December will come. In fact, it has a high probability of staging a game and causing a team to have to go to frigid Pennsylvania and face more than 106,000 people opposing them.

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

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

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