At halftime of its first-ever Rose Bowl appearance one year ago, everything seemed to be going right for the Utah Utes. Despite having to use a halfback at cornerback for the short-handed secondary, Utah held a 35-21 lead over a powerful Ohio State opponent.
In the second half, the lack of experience proved costly, as Jaxson Smith-Njigba accounted for a whopping 347 of CJ Stroud’s 573 yards through the air, and the Utes suffered a heart-breaking 48-45 loss to the Buckeyes.
Now, one year later, the Utes will get a shot at redemption, this time against the Penn State Nittany Lions.
However, once again, Utah will be short-handed at the cornerback position. Clark Phillips III, one of the greatest cornerbacks to ever play for the Utes, will not be returning for his second Rose Bowl appearance, after declaring for the NFL draft weeks before the big game.
Fortunately, the versatile Micah Bernard will not need to switch to defense this time around, as JaTravis Broughton and Zemaiah Vaughn will both be healthy and prepared to man the two cornerback positions.
Actually, considering how many players around the nation are in the transfer portal or skipping bowl games to prepare for the NFL, both Utah and Penn State will have nearly all of their players suit up for the “Granddaddy of Them All”.
While the Utes will be without their unanimous All-American corner, the playing field has been evened as the Nittany Lions will also have their All-American corner, Joey Porter Jr., out for this matchup. As it was with Phillips III, Porter Jr. has also declared for the NFL draft.
Outside of those two crucial defenders, both squads should have the same key players that they ended the season with.
What to Expect in This Year’s Rose Bowl Matchup
Utah and Penn State and two extremely similar teams. Both teams prefer to lean on their run games and stingy defenses to control the pace of the game. Both squads limit turnovers and penalties while doing everything they can to disrupt the game plan of their opponents and cause them to do the opposite.
As it has for most of the season, the Nittany Lions will likely lean on its pair of young running backs to propel its offense against the Utes. Big Ten Freshman of the year RB Nicholas Singleton ran for 941 yards and 10 touchdowns while sharing the rushing workload with fellow freshman RB Kaytron Allen, who added another 830 yards and 9 touchdowns on the ground.
The duo helped Penn State average 182.1 yards rushing per game. However, Utah had one of the best rush defenses in the nation, holding opponents to an average of just 107 yards rushing per game. In fact, in the final four games of the season, the Utes held opponents to an average of just 49.8 yards rushing per game.
If Singleton and Allen can’t get the running game going, the Nittany Lions will need to lean on its career leader in passing yards (10,382) and passing touchdowns (84), quarterback Sean Clifford. With Phillips III on his way to the NFL, the passing attack might be the Achilles heel once again for Utah.
The Nittany Lions lost its top receiver, Parker Washington, to a season-ending injury in early November. Since that injury, Penn State has turned to WR Mitchell Tinsley (528 yards and 4 TD’s) and its tight ends to pick up the void. TE’s Brenton Strange and Theo Johnson combined for 662 yards receiving and 9 touchdowns on the year.
As for the Utes, it’s probable that they will also have to rely heavily on the passing game as well. While former quarterback Ja’Quinden Jackson has been a revelation at running back since changing positions, averaging an impressive 6.9 yards per carry, the Penn State defense has also been tough to run on this season.
Led by Second-Team All-Big Ten LB Abdul Carter and DL PJ Mustipher, as well as Third-Team All-Big Ten CB Kalen King, DL Adisa Isaac, and S Ji’Ayir Brown, the nasty Nittany Lion defense has held opponents to just 105.2 yards rushing per game, which is 14th best in the nation.
Just like Utah, Penn State has also been particularly tough against the run over the final four games of the year, holding opponents to an average of just 45.5 rushing yards per game over that stretch.
This means that QB Cam Rising will likely be needed to find a way to move the ball through the air. The Utes top pass catchers, TE Dalton Kincaid and WR DeVaughn Vele, were banged up for the final stretch of regular season games, and Utah had to depend on new weapons to put the ball in the endzone.
Kincaid has elected to skip the bowl game to get healthy for the NFL Combine, but Vele should be healthy once again. The Utes also saw TE Thomas Yassmin and WR’s Money Parks and Jaylen Dixon step up in Kincaid and Vele’s absence, and they should be players to watch in this upcoming matchup.
Yassmin has scored a touchdown in 4 of the last 5 games, and has proven difficult to bring down. In fact, over the past five games, Yassmin has scored 4 touchdowns in just 6 catches. That means he has scored on 66% of his catches over that stretch. Basically, if he gets his hands on the ball he has a very high chance of reaching the endzone.
Final Thoughts
Due to how both of these teams play, do not expect a high-scoring shootout like it was in last year’s 93-point fireworks display. Utah is currently favored to win this game by just 2.5 points, and the over/under is at 52.5.
This game will likely come down to which team can find a way to run the ball and find some balance in its offensive attack. It’s possible that neither team finds a way to do that, in which case, it will come down to which seasoned quarterback can move the ball through the air, without turning the ball over.
Utah has the advantage in having played in this game last season, so the players will be prepared for the Rose Bowl environment. The Utes should also have a few more offensive weapons to rely on, which ultimately should be the reason why Utah finds a way to avenge last season’s last-minute loss in Pasadena and come away with a victory in this one.
Straight Up Utes Score Prediction: Utah 31 Penn State 28
Straight Up Utes 