Opinion: Penn State reverses script in comeback at USC to boost College Football Playoff hopes

LOS ANGELES — For a while, it looked like it was going to be the same old story for Penn State.

A potentially great team that consistently has put up solid winning seasons, the red flag hanging over the Nittany Lions was they can’t win the big games. When the spotlight shined brightest, Penn State consistently failed to reach its potential and had to settle in the second-echelon of college football.

Making its first trip out West for a Big Ten game against Southern California, it seemed like the narrative would stick after a double-digit deficit by halftime.

Instead of faltering, Penn State showed grit, punched right back and will leave the 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 ton of stuff that we can get better, but we're 1-0 and that equals 6-0, and I'm gonna take it and run to the airport.”

The rough start Saturday probably triggered several painful flashbacks for Nittany Lions fans, who know all too well that those few losses have resulted in dramatic shifts toward the season trajectory. 

Entering the contest, 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 outsprinted the defense to 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 gashing 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 out of halftime completely flipped the script. The offense stepped on the gas pedal and scored touchdowns easily on its first two drives while the defense turned into its former self to tie the game at 20 in the third quarter. Even after Drew Allar threw an interception in his own territory that led USC retaking the lead, the Nittany Lions responded to every punch thrown at them. 

HIGHS AND LOWS: Winners and losers from Week 7 in college football

Down by a touchdown in the final minutes, Allar made some big-time 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 up 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 victory. 

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

“It didn't go perfect for (Allar) today, and he just grinded through it and pushed through it and he flushed the bad plays and moved on, and that's what we got to do in college football,” Franklin said.

Saturday’s win would not have been possible without the heroic play of tight end Tyler Warren, who catapulted himself consideration as the best tight end in the country. He accounted for 50 yards on the opening drive, a sign of what was what to come.

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

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

Warren isn’t the person to talk about himself and gave the other receivers credit for getting the win. However, he gushed with pride with how the rest of his teammates didn’t stay in the hole they dug themselves.

“This was just an awesome win. To come into a tough place to play against a really good team.” Warren said. “It was a grind that we grinded out, and I couldn't be more happy with the way we played and the way we fought back after being down.”

Not only was the victory over USC helpful in ending the narrative of faltering when the lights shine bright, it was the first major step toward Penn State claiming one of the 12 spots in the newly expanded playoff. Had the current system been in place when the playoff was introduced in 2014, the Nittany Lions would've likely been in six of them, leaving Happy Valley wishing it had the expanded opportunity. Now, it's right for the taking.

Of course, there’s the heavily anticipated home matchup against Ohio State in three weeks. Even though Nittany Lions fans would love to break the seven-game losing skid to the Buckeyes, a loss is no longer the end of the world. And that includes if it means getting shut out of the Big Ten title game again.

Should Penn State handle the rest of its business - which it has shown it’s capable of doing - and finish 11-1 without winning the Big Ten championship, there’s little doubt it would find itself in the bracket reveal come December. Even better, it has a great chance of hosting a game and making a team have to go into frigid Pennsylvania and deal with 106,000-plus rooting against them. 

There’s still a long ways to go, but at the midway point of their season and bye week on deck, Penn State is will head back East in the best position it has been in for quite some time.

“It's going to make for a great ride home,” Franklin said.