- Penn State beat USC in overtime on Saturday to remain undefeated
- But coach James Franklin didn’t care for his team’s postgame celebrations
Penn State head coach James Franklin was left heated on Saturday afternoon after one of his players gloated over the Nittany Lions’ win at USC by planting a flag at midfield.
No. 4 Penn State, who moved to 6-0 with the win, earned a comeback win in overtime after Ryan Barker nailed a 36-yard field goal at the LA Coliseum.
And cornerback Audavion Collins rubbed in the win by planting a ‘WE ARE’ flag at the 50-yard line – a move that quickly drew the scorn of Franklin.
The flag was at midfield for just a few seconds before Franklin wagged his finger at Collins and grabbed the flag away from him.
In a video of the incident, he then appeared to instruct one of his Penn State staffers to take the flag away.
Penn State coach James Franklin, seen during Penn State’s 33-30 win at USC, was not pleased afterwards when one of his players planted a flag at midfield
Audavion Collins (right) was scolded by Franklin after the game for planting a flag
Flag-planting has become an increasingly common mode for road teams in college football to taunt their hosts after earning a win.
Several fans expressed support of Franklin’s decision to take the flag away.
‘That is classy of Franklin,’ one USC supporter said.
Another added, ‘I agree with Coach on this. It’s classless and tacky, especially when you’re ranked #4 and just barely made a 3 point win in overtime against an unranked opponent.’
Penn State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) never led after falling behind 7-3 until Barker capped the first extra session with the last of his four field goals. The Nittany Lions had to battle back from a two-touchdown halftime deficit, doing so thanks in part to a prolific connection between quarterback Drew Allar and tight end Tyler Warren.
Warren was on the receiving end of 17 of Allar’s 30 completions, hauling in a 32-yard touchdown catch just after the break to ignite Penn State’s rally.
Nittany Lions running back Kaytron Allen (13) is lifted in the air by offensive lineman Anthony Donkoh (68) after scoring a touchdown on Saturday
USC Trojans wide receiver Duce Robinson (2) runs the ball after a complete pass before he is stopped by Penn State Nittany Lions safety Zakee Wheatley (6)
Warren’s 224 receiving yards are the second most by any Penn State player, only trailing Jahan Dotson’s 242 against Maryland in 2021.
Allar went 30-for-43 passing for 391 yards and two touchdowns, the second of which was a 14-yard strike to Nicholas Singleton that tied the game at 30 with 2:53 left in regulation. Allar was also picked off three times.
The Trojans (3-3, 1-3) crossed into Penn State territory just after the two-minute warning. But while letting the clock tick down as it tried to get into field-goal range, USC saw its end-game strategy backfire.
Jaylen Reed intercepted Trojans quarterback Miller Moss’ deep pass attempt to keep the contest tied and force overtime. In the extra period, the Penn State defense caused a pair of incompletions and Dani Dennis-Sutton tackled Woody Marks for a loss of 3 yards, making USC kicker Michael Lantz’s field-goal attempt 45 yards.
Lantz missed, opening the door for Penn State to win.
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