Penn State’s ‘flag football’ trick play stuns USC defense in Big Ten clash

Penn State tight end Tyler Warren scored a touchdown on what announcers described as a “flag football” trick play in Saturday’s wild win over Southern California.

The cheating began when Beau Pribula, the Nittany Lions’ backup quarterback, took the field in the third quarter and Penn State was at USC’s 32-yard line. Starting quarterback Drew Allar lined up at wide receiver, and after a dramatic formation shift prior to the snap, Warren eventually ran the ball to Pribula from the far left side of the offensive line.

Confused, USC’s defense failed to pick off Warren as he sprinted down the field after the snap. The ball was then passed backwards from Pribula to Allar, who delivered a perfect 34-yard pass to Warren.

The catch was perhaps even more impressive than the play itself, as Warren managed to haul in the touchdown despite being completely covered by Trojan safety Zion Branch.

Warren caught 17 passes to tie the FBS single-game record for tight ends, Ryan Barker hit a 36-yard field goal in overtime and No. 4 Penn State rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half for a 33-30 win over USC.

Drew Allar passed for a career-high 391 yards and two touchdowns despite three interceptions for Penn State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten), which did not lead in the final 49 minutes of regulation. The Nittany Lions came back three times to tie the score in the final 20 minutes, including Nicholas Singleton’s 14-yard touchdown reception with 2:53 remaining.

Quentin Joyner scored two early touchdowns for the Trojans (3-3, 1-3), who lost three of four. USC hasn’t defeated a top-five team since the Trojans defeated No. 5 Penn State in a 52-49 thriller of a Rose Bowl in January 2017.

Warren racked up 224 yards and a touchdown, although his only catch after the third quarter was a 3-yarder in overtime. The senior set a record for most receptions by an opponent in USC’s 137-year football history.

The Nittany Lions started their long road trip slowly, but ended it in impressive fashion. After going up 3-0 on the first drive, Penn State no longer led in regulation and trailed 20-6 at halftime before the offense got moving.

USC’s Kyron Hudson caught a go-ahead touchdown pass from Miller Moss with 5:56 left, but Allar converted two fourth downs with desperation passing for Penn State before Singleton was left all alone for his tying goal.

USC drove to midfield in the final seconds, but Lincoln Riley curiously didn’t use timeouts to extend the Trojans’ drive before Jaylen Reed picked off Moss with 5 seconds left.

USC went back 3 yards through the first three overtimes before Michael Lantz missed a 45-yard field goal attempt. Penn State advanced to the 19 and Barker buried the winner.

Moss passed for 220 yards and two scores, while Joyner rushed for a 75-yard TD in the first quarter and caught a 9-yard TD pass in the second quarter for the Trojans. Woody Marks rushed for 111 yards for USC.

Penn State had a healthy contingent of fans at the Coliseum for its first long road trip in the new Big Ten and the longest trip for any regular-season game since 1991.

But USC’s defense kept Penn State out of the end zone in the first half despite playing without injured linebacker Eric Gentry, its sack leader and second-leading tackler, and starting cornerback Jacobe Covington.

Joyner gave the Trojans an early lead when he reversed and rumbled 75 yards through the heart of Penn State’s defense. Moments later, he added his first career TD catch.

Penn State responded to its 14-point halftime deficit with Allar’s TD throw to Warren. The Nittany Lions made a 90-yard march to score the equalizer moments later, with Kaytron Allen netting it.

Easton Mascarenas-Arnold’s interception led to USC’s third field goal late in the third, but Penn State tied the score again with 10:50 to play after the next drive stalled at the 3.