Rose Bowl – Utah +1.5 vs Penn State – Utah just keeps rolling. 2022 was another ten win season, another Pac-12 Championship, and it’s going to another Rose Bowl to face a Big Ten East team.
It’s Utah. You know what you’re getting. Great lines, great coaching, a great combination of toughness and confidence. Utah is one of five Power 5 teams that rank in the top 20 in both total offense and defense.
Few teams are able to dominate the clock like Utah can, with third down conversions coming at a 50% clip, and with the defense the best in the Pac-12 at coming up with third down stops.
The offense is led by QB Cameron Rising. Rising has thrown for nearly 3,000 passing yards and 25 touchdowns, posting a QBR (82.9) that ranks inside the top 10 in the country.
Utah’s offensive line is phenomenal, and it’s great at keeping defenses out of the backfield, but now it’s dealing with the Big Ten’s best pass rush and the best D at generating tackles for loss. There was the outlier against Michigan which ran for over 400 yards, but that was it for bad moments for the Penn State defensive front. It held Minnesota to 165 in a blowout win, and stuffed Auburn allowing 119 rushing yards in a 41-12 road blasting. No one else ran for more than 100 on the PSU defense.
The defense did take a hit when CB Joey Porter Jr. declared for the draft and opted-out. One of the nation’s best cover corners, Porter was rarely tested by opposing quarterbacks. He was a second-team All-American in 2022. The 6-foot-2, 194-pounder is a likely first-round pick in the spring.
Penn State might have been the most overlooked team in college football this season, as both of its losses came against teams that are in the College Football Playoff.
It’s Utah. You know what you’re getting. Great lines, great coaching, a great combination of toughness and confidence. Utah is one of five Power 5 teams that rank in the top 20 in both total offense and defense.
Few teams are able to dominate the clock like Utah can, with third down conversions coming at a 50% clip, and with the defense the best in the Pac-12 at coming up with third down stops.
The offense is led by QB Cameron Rising. Rising has thrown for nearly 3,000 passing yards and 25 touchdowns, posting a QBR (82.9) that ranks inside the top 10 in the country.
Utah’s offensive line is phenomenal, and it’s great at keeping defenses out of the backfield, but now it’s dealing with the Big Ten’s best pass rush and the best D at generating tackles for loss. There was the outlier against Michigan which ran for over 400 yards, but that was it for bad moments for the Penn State defensive front. It held Minnesota to 165 in a blowout win, and stuffed Auburn allowing 119 rushing yards in a 41-12 road blasting. No one else ran for more than 100 on the PSU defense.
The defense did take a hit when CB Joey Porter Jr. declared for the draft and opted-out. One of the nation’s best cover corners, Porter was rarely tested by opposing quarterbacks. He was a second-team All-American in 2022. The 6-foot-2, 194-pounder is a likely first-round pick in the spring.
Penn State might have been the most overlooked team in college football this season, as both of its losses came against teams that are in the College Football Playoff.
A prolific offense helped drive their success. Penn State ranked third among Big Ten teams in scoring (35.8 ppg) and total offense (432.4 ypg) during the regular season. The Nittany Lions benefited from an experienced quarterback at the helm and dynamic young runners in the backfield.
QB Sean Clifford tallied 2,543 yards and 22 touchdowns through the air this season. Penn State is 6-1 this season when he puts up at least 200 passing yards.
RB Nicholas Singleton made an immediate game-changing impact during his debut season. Singleton broke Penn State's freshman record for rushing touchdowns during the regular season with 10. He earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors after posting 941 rushing yards and leads all FBS freshmen by averaging 6.32 yards per carry.
He will face a terrific Ute defensive front that held opponents to fewer than 100 rushing yards seven times. But the real problem for the Nittany Lions might be control. As good as the running game is, and as terrific as the offense has been, it’s miserable on third downs.
Utah came up short in the Rose Bowl a year ago and the Utes worked all season to get back to this point and finish what they started. I’ll take a a hungry Utah team which dismantled USC in the Pac-12 Championship against the Nittany Lions, who floundered in other games against top-10 opponents earlier this season.
Put me down for a quatloo on the money line at +100
QB Sean Clifford tallied 2,543 yards and 22 touchdowns through the air this season. Penn State is 6-1 this season when he puts up at least 200 passing yards.
RB Nicholas Singleton made an immediate game-changing impact during his debut season. Singleton broke Penn State's freshman record for rushing touchdowns during the regular season with 10. He earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors after posting 941 rushing yards and leads all FBS freshmen by averaging 6.32 yards per carry.
He will face a terrific Ute defensive front that held opponents to fewer than 100 rushing yards seven times. But the real problem for the Nittany Lions might be control. As good as the running game is, and as terrific as the offense has been, it’s miserable on third downs.
Utah came up short in the Rose Bowl a year ago and the Utes worked all season to get back to this point and finish what they started. I’ll take a a hungry Utah team which dismantled USC in the Pac-12 Championship against the Nittany Lions, who floundered in other games against top-10 opponents earlier this season.
Put me down for a quatloo on the money line at +100