What did USC coach Lincoln Riley, Penn State players say following Lions' 33-30 win?

LOS ANGELES — Penn State won a thriller Saturday against USC, rallying from two touchdowns down at halftime to ultimately secure a 33-30 win and stay undefeated on the season. While the Trojans do now have three losses, USC is still the most talented team that the Nittany Lions have faced so far, making this comeback a key checkpoint for head coach James Franklin’s program and their hopes of making the College Football Playoff.

However, USC had an opportunity to win the game late. After Penn State quarterback Drew Allar led the Lions on a 75-yard drive to tie the game, the Trojans still had nearly three minutes to get a field goal. After two first-down conversions, USC got the ball to midfield but then allowed over a minute to expire in just two plays. A Jaylen Reed interception a few plays later killed their chance of a field goal, but the decision to not use any of his three timeouts before that was among the biggest questions asked to USC head coach Lincoln Riley after the game.

Highs & Lows: Penn State edges USC in thrilling, 33-30 OT win

“Yeah, we talked about it a little bit,” Riley said. “When we had the lost yardage play, on I think first down, we kind of at that point started talking about, ‘Alright, do we need to use timeouts and stop the clock?’ I think that was 2nd and 12, if I remember it right….If you don’t get anything there, then it’s 3rd and 12 and you just potentially bought [Penn State] a series and we weren’t in field goal range yet.

“So, we went back and forth on, ‘Do we use them or stop the clock or not?’ Honestly, I felt so good about how Mike [Lantz] was hitting the ball….The way Mike was kicking it, I think was the biggest reason I wanted to make sure that was the last possession.”

Lantz ended up missing a 45-yard field goal in overtime to give Penn State the opportunity to seal the game. For Riley and his program, losses like this have become a trend.

“A hard-fought game and just a really difficult loss. There’s really no way to sugarcoat that,” he said. “Our guys fought their ass off from beginning to end. As a coach, you can’t ask for anything more than the effort our guys put on the field. That was two good football teams going at it. It came down to the last play, and again, it hurts obviously to not be able to get this done.

“We’ve had two games like this where we had chances to win right there at the end. To not make the plays, to not have some of the breaks bounce your way, it’s a gut punch. No doubt about it. We’re very disappointed to not finish it off.”

USC safety Kamari Ramsey on Tyler Warren

Penn State tight end Tyler Warren put together a career day, totaling 17 receptions for 224 yards and a touchdown. It’ll go down as the best performance ever by a Penn State tight end. After the game, USC cornerback Kamari Ramsey was asked if the defense should’ve made more adjustments to limit Warren.

“We had a great scheme, a great game plan going into the game. I think he had a great game plan,” said Ramsey. “He’s a great player. He made some great catches, too. So, take your hat off to him. We had a good game plan. We should’ve made plays to stop him, too, but he made great plays. Tip your hat to him.”

Notable Penn State player quotes

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

– TE Tyler Warren when asked about the win over USC.

“The second one, Liam [Clifford] actually helped me get lined up with the play, because I missed it in the huddle. So appreciate him for that. I just think the confidence that Drew has throwing the ball right now, it’s awesome. Just missed the call. Head’s going everywhere. You’re thinking about this, thinking about the situation, thinking about what could happen, and I just missed it. He got me lined up. [Liam] got me good.”

– WR Julian Fleming on his second fourth down conversion late in the game.

“I mean, he’s been doing that since fall camp. So I ain’t really too surprised.”

– DT Zane Durant on K Ryan Barker