LOS ANGELES – As Ryan Barker prepared to jog onto the field in overtime, Jaylen Reed asked everyone around him not to talk to the Penn State kicker. Drew Allar, Abdul Carter, Liam Clifford and assistant coach Marques Hagans knelt together on the Nittany Lions sideline and held hands as USC called timeout to ice Barker. Riley Thompson, Barker’s holder, said a few words to him. Nothing more. Barker did his mental and breathing exercises to get himself ready. Then the walk-on from Kennett High School in Chester County drilled a 36-yard field goal to lift Penn State over USC 33-30 Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. “I just felt good that I was going to make the kick,” Barker said. “When I saw it go through, I wasn’t really surprised at that point. It played out exactly how I thought it would.” Barker’s kick capped a remarkable comeback by fourth-ranked Penn State (3-0 Big Ten, 6-0), which trailed 20-6 at halftime and which beat the Trojans for the first time in six tries in California. His teammates clearly believed in Barker, who went 4-for-4 Saturday. His game-winner came after Michael Lantz’s 45-yard field goal try for USC was wide to the left in overtime. “Coach (James) Franklin does a great job of being excessive with those specialists in practice,” Allar said. “When they get in those situations, they’re unfazed. It’s a credit to his confidence and his demeanor. He’s the same person every day. I’m super happy for him.” Barker made Steph Curry’s sleeper gesture and then was mobbed first by Thompson and holder Tyler Duzansky and then by many other teammates. He sprinted down the field where many Penn State fans sat to celebrate with them. Several Penn State players were overcome with emotion, including the normally stoic Reed. “It was amazing,” he said. “I was so overwhelmed just with how proud I am. It was more of a quiet cry. I’m the type of guy who’s always poking everybody else and making sure they don’t cry. It got to me.” Reed stopped USC’s final drive in regulation when he intercepted Miller Moss’ pass at the Penn State 29 with the Trojans driving for a potential game-winning field goal of their own. Then in overtime, Dani Dennis-Sutton dropped Woody Marks for a 3-yard loss and Cam Miller broke up a third-down pass after Carter pressured Moss. The Lions defense also held USC to two field goals after two of Allar’s three interceptions. “At the end of the day, players have to make plays,” Franklin said. “I thought our guys did that when it mattered most down the stretch. Our defense stood up when it mattered most.” Tyler Warren stood up all afternoon in front of the frenzied crowd of 75,250. A senior tight end, he set a school record with 17 catches that went for 224 yards and one touchdown. On that 32-yard touchdown in the third quarter, Warren actually snapped the football on the play and then ran his route. “It’s going to sound funny, but we practice that all the time,” Warren said. “It’s just doing another job on a play. Drew gave me a chance to go and make a play. It was a good ball and coming down with it was big. It was a really big drive for us on offense.” It was the opening drive of the third quarter and brought Penn State within a touchdown. The Lions then tied it at 20, 23 and 30 after USC had regained the lead. Penn State quickly answered with a 75-yard drive of its own behind two fourth-down completions from Allar to Julian Fleming for 17 yards on fourth-and-7 and for 16 yards on fourth-and-10. On second-and-1 from the USC 15, Allar found Nick Singleton all alone for the tying TD with 2:53 to go. “I know Julian had that drop earlier in the game, but I think it shows the type of player he is and the type of person he is to keep battling back,” Allar said. “Those two fourth-down plays were obviously huge for us. Those were two of the most impressive contested catches I’ve seen.” Allar completed 30-of-43 passes for 391 yards and two TDs with three interceptions, including a Hail Mary at the end of regulation. Penn State overcame those turnovers and some early defensive breakdowns to win its first overtime game since beating Appalachian State in 2018. Thanks to Barker, who was anointed the regular kicker earlier this month. “It’s exactly how I pictured it in my head whenever I would think about it even as a kid,” he said. “It was just an awesome feeling to be able to do it.”