Penn State Football’s overtime road victory over USC was the first in program history since 2005.
The Nittany Lions’ offense had moxy and Drew Allar showed why he was the No.1 quarterback, nationally, in his recruiting class.
The moment wasn’t too big for the offense, they weren’t timid– instead, they showed confidence and a will to win.
After the Nittany Lions’ 6-0 start, we’ve learned a lot about this squad.
Playing to win
The past few years, Penn State’s offense was timid and struggled to move the ball down field when facing adversity and tougher opponents.
Tyler Warren had the game of his career, recording 17 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown– video game numbers.
But, for an offense in the past that might’ve played to not lose, they stuck their foot in the ground and took it straight to the USC defense.
“We talked about playing to win all week and not playing scared and playing aggressive on offense,” Warren said during a post-game appearance on CBS Sports. “That’s kind of the mentality that we brought into this game and that’s Coach [Kotelnicki], that’s the way he calls the game– sticking to our keys to the game and playing to win.”
Penn State faces the challenge of facing Wisconsin on the road and Ohio State at home in its next two games. It’s now battle-tested and it says a lot about the character of this team to surmount a comeback like it did on Saturday, two time-zones away against a talented USC squad.
Drew Allar has taken the next step
No one has felt more pressure at Penn State than Drew Allar has.
Since the five-star quarterback stepped on campus, he’s faced the lofty expectations of taking the program to the next level.
His sophomore campaign of 2,631 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions is no slouch– but the talented quarterback came up short in the Nittany Lions’ two biggest games.
Allar now possesses the type of confidence this season that no one has seen before, showing more emotion and willing his team back down two touchdowns on the road.
While he threw three interceptions, one on a hail mary, the junior threw for 391 yards and two touchdowns– plus two difficult fourth-down conversions late in the fourth quarter.
“Coach K, Coach Franklin, never lost faith in me and allowed me to keep playing,” Allar said. “We always talk about it in the quarterback room; just keep shooting. Keep shooting no matter what. Some things aren’t going to go your way, but it’s how you bounce back from them. And I think as an overall offense we did a great job of bouncing back in the second half.”
No moment is too large for Penn State’s leader.
The Nittany Lions have found their kicker
Ryan Barker, the freshman walk-on, in just his second career start cashes all three of his extra points and hits four field-goals, including the game winner in overtime.
After the Nittany Lions struggled in the kicking game with Sander Sahaydak, they found an unsung hero just in time for when they needed it the most.
“I’m just so proud of him,” coach James Franklin said. “He came to Penn State as a walk-on, busted his a**, an opportunity knocked and he took it.”
With the game on the line, Barker was calm, cool and collected– and had no doubt about making the game-winning kick.
“All week during practice we visualize these types of moments,” Barker said. “So, all I felt was how I am going to celebrate after I make it.”
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