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LOS ANGELES — A jubilant and sizable contingent of visiting Penn State fans weren’t leaving until Tyler Warren did first.
The hero of No. 4 Penn State’s come-from-behind, 33-30 overtime win over USC in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum warranted their time after a historic 17-catch, 224-yard performance. After Warren wrapped up a postgame interview with CBS’ Jenny Dell, they loudly beckoned him over with “Ty-ler, War-ren” over and over. As he dashed toward the locker room, he stopped over to celebrate with the remaining fans, giving low-fives to as many as he could, as a “We love you, Tyler” chant rang out.
And, no, it wasn’t Penn State coach James Franklin who started that chant, but it’s safe to say he shared that feeling.
“I’ve been talking about him being the best tight end in college football,” Franklin said, “but the reality is he’s now part of a conversation of one of the best players in all of college football.”
You could feel the narratives around Franklin building in real time.
After building the runway for excuses ahead of time, Franklin’s Nittany Lions looked well on their way to losing their toughest road game on the schedule. For a coach who has dominated the Big Ten’s also-rans but struggled against its powers like Michigan and Ohio State, the takes were brewing that this was more of the same for “Big Game James.” Penn State seemed destined for a spot in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff after coming up just short multiple times in the four-team era, but a loss to the Trojans would make that path considerably more arduous.
Enter the 6-foot-6, 261-pound Warren, who was essentially unstoppable against USC.
Down 20-6 coming out of halftime, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnecki told his squad if they had…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/penn-states-humble-hero-tyler-warrens-historic-performance-wills-no-4-nittany-lions-to-key-road-victory/
Author : John Talty
Publish date : 2024-10-13 02:44:38
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