Penn State’s Tyler Warren will challenge Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl

On January 10, 2025By Littum

Pause for a moment and soak in this absurdity.

Tyler Warren is 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, and runs like a wide receiver. He set the Penn State single-season record for catches with 98. And counting.

Penn State’s senior All-America tight end is the most — take your pick — exciting, fascinating, dominant player back in the College Football Playoff. He is a matchup deficit for any opponent no matter what defense throws at him.

He’s a WWE Superstar who struts around his dominion knowing that no one can touch him. Only there’s nothing fake about this all-too-real unicorn on the college football scene.

Or as Boise State coach Spencer Danielson bluntly admitted, “The best way to try to negate (Warren) is to affect the quarterback.”

In other words, if you can’t pressure Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, there’s no answer for Warren. Now everyone can finally see this rare player in all his glory on the sport’s biggest stage Thursday in the CFP Orange Bowl semifinal against Notre Dame.

“I’m glad I got another week with these guys,” Warren said after Penn State’s CFP quarterfinal win over Boise State. “I try to play every play as if it were the last.”

Welcome Notre Dame, to defend the indefensible. Be prepared to fail – like everyone else.

“It’s obviously a difficult matchup problem,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman says matter-of-factly.

And he doesn’t oversell it.

If you haven’t seen Warren before – because who among us didn’t tune out Penn State in early November after another loss to Ohio State? – you are in front of a remarkable revelation.

Like Warren, a former high school quarterback, jumps and scores from the three — soaring over Illinois defenders and into the end zone while lining up at quarterback. Or do it again, from the same spot on the court, against Washington.

Or that one 48-yard touchdown ran on quarterback power against Purdue where he hit the edge and got into the second level and ran away from the defense. Not one defender touched him.

Or to complete a pass and then capture a throwbackfor a 40-yard gain against Purdue. On the same play while lining up at quarterback.

Or playing center—yes, everybody, center—against Southern California and lining up qualified in the formation, snapping the ball and running a streak down the middle of the field. He caught the ball in the end zone while turning around the safety, another 50-50 ball where the 6-foot-6, 260-pounder has the advantage.

Because 6-6, 260 always has the edge. That catch against USC was one of 17 in the game. That’s right, seventeen.

Warren has had at least six catches in nine of Penn State’s 15 games. He has four 100-yard games, eight touchdowns and is averaging nearly 12 yards per carry. catch. He also has four rushing touchdowns while lining up in the backfield.

Now imagine game planning this rare weapon in the biggest game of the season.

Boise State tried everything to prevent Warren from changing the flow of the game, including double teams, rolling coverages and using ends and linebackers to jam and redirect at the line of scrimmage. Nothing worked when it mattered most when Boise State couldn’t affect the quarterback on critical plays.

Two plays – two dagger touchdowns – where Warren’s size and speed took over. Where the unicorn made a play as only he can.

The first came on Penn State’s opening drive of the game, on second-and-long, when Warren had time to run from the left side of the formation all the way to the right corner of the end zone. Allar threw the ball to a point in the back corner and Warren burst out of pass-off zone coverage to get it.

And deftly pounded his feet inward before clearing out of the end zone.

Later in the third quarter, after Boise State had closed to 17-14 and had momentum, Warren caught another touchdown pass on third-and-long — this time in man coverage, high-pointing an Allar throw in the back of the end zone . over safety Ty Benefield for a gut-punch of a score.

Again, carefully getting two feet into the field and completing the catch before crossing the back line.

Now the problem for Notre Dame: the Irish are just as limited in covering Warren. Like everyone else in college football.

But Notre Dame has seven sacks in playoff wins over Indiana and Georgia, and despite size limitations (and injuries) on the defensive line, has been able to produce pressure and affect the quarterback.

Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke had an elite season, but struggled mightily against the Notre Dame pass rush (and coverage) until the Irish played soft with a 24-point lead. Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton, making his first career start, played about the same, and the Irish constantly harassed and limited his impact.

The plan for Notre Dame is the same as the plan for Boise State: affect the quarterback and affect Warren’s chances to change the game.

Needless to say, it doesn’t always work.

“He’s not just a big guy who can run. He’s long and has a rare catch radius, and he can run right over you,” Boise Sate safety Alexander Tuebner said. “He finds ways to make plays no matter how you covers him.”

This is your unicorn, everyone. And it is almost impossible to defend the indefensible.

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for the USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.