Tyler Warren's 17-catch day is key to Penn State's rally over USC

LOS ANGELES – Nearly seven years ago, James Franklin watched a USC kicker split the uprights in Pasadena as the clock read zero and Penn State blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost the Rose Bowl Game.

On Saturday, just a few miles west of the famous venue, Franklin did the same. This time, however, it was at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and it was its kicker Ryan Barker who converted a 36-yarder in overtime to beat USC 33-30 and retain the No. 1 seed. 4 Penn State's undefeated season is alive.

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

Although Barker's lead sent the Nittany Lions on the long journey back to Happy Valley with a smile on his face, it was tight end Tyler Warren who carried the offense – and the team – on his shoulders Saturday.

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

To save the game from an upset, Warren had to break through it. And he did: He caught 17 passes for 224 yards, tied the FBS record for most catches in a game by a tight end, and recorded the second-most receiving yards in school history.

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

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

Warren fueled the Trojans' revamped defense throughout the game. 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. Warren was unstoppable on Saturday, but the Trojans couldn't even begin to contain him. And that's exactly what he did in his normal role – a position he didn't start playing until he arrived at Penn State.

Elsewhere, Warren was a Swiss Army knife. In perhaps the decisive situation, Warren acted as a midfielder. He snapped the ball to backup quarterback Beau Pribula, who passed it sideways to starter Drew Aller, who then found Warren in the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown.

“Actually my first position in football was center my first year as a flagship,” Warren said after the game. “I threw the ball 17 times in high school but never (had 17 catches). … So yeah, it was fun.”

Warren also ran the ball 4 yards on one play and even had a pass of his own – a 9-yard completion that led to a first down for the Nittany Lions.

While Penn State's offense got off to a slow start against the Trojans, scoring just six points on two field goals in the first half, there wasn't too much conservative about offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki's game plan on Saturday. He tried tricks at will, moved players in clever positions like chess pieces and left the new-look USC defense under D'Anton Lynn confused at times. Warren was at the center of Kotelnicki's madness and the unit got back on track in the second half, gaining over 300 yards and scoring 24 points. Allar, who had thrown interceptions in two halves, had totaled 391 yards and two touchdowns at the end of the game.

“Coach K, Coach Franklin, they never lost faith in me,” Allar said. “We always talk about keeping shooting in the QB room. Keep shooting no matter what happens. Some things won't go the way you want. But it depends on how you recover.”

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

It also helped that as Franklin and Co. headed west, scores of Penn State fans who were either there or had traveled there lit up the stadium in brilliant white on Saturday.

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

Before the game, USC coach Lincoln Riley asked Trojans fans to bring energy. But when Barker, a former walk-on, won the game with his left foot and the stands were mostly emptied of Cardinal and Gold, a joyful Franklin and his team celebrated as if they were home.