Very first look at Rose Bowl: Keys to success for Utah,
9:00 AM ET Paolo Uggetti Chris Low Close ESPN Senior Author
- College football press reporter
- Signed up with ESPN.com in 2007
- Graduate of the University of Tennessee
For the second year in a row, Utah has actually shown that it is the very best group in the Pac-12 and will be dealing with a Huge 10 foe in the Rose Bowl. What was a high-powered match between the Utes and Ohio State in 2015 could see a similar circumstance play out in Pasadena on Jan. 2.
Utah will have to match Penn State– which is no stranger to shootouts at the Rose Bowl (see: 2017)– blow for blow in a matchup of top 20 offenses to prevent going 0-2 into the Granddaddy of Them All.The Utes and quarterback Cameron Rising entered into the game with lots of confidence after removing USC twice this season, consisting of in the Pac-12 champion, while the Nittany Lions had a sneaky 10-2 season in which their only losses were to the two Huge Ten groups playing in the College Football Playoff.
No. 8 Utah vs. No. 11 Penn State Rose Bowl Game When: Monday, Jan. 2 at 5 p.m. ET Where: Pasadena, California How to enjoy: ESPN and ESPN App
Opening line by means of Caesars Sportsbook: Utah by 2.5
Utah
Secret player: It has to be Cam Rising in what could be his last game under center for the Utes. In just 2 seasons, Increasing has done nearly whatever in his power to leave his mark as one of the program’s best quarterbacks, and he has a year of eligibility left. This season, Increasing passed for nearly 3,000 lawns and his QBR was among the 10 finest in the country. Rising arguably had his finest games on the biggest stages this season, and he likely will require to do a little much better than his 217-yard, two-touchdown performance in last year’s Rose Bowl against Ohio State. As Kyle Whittingham said after the Pac-12 champion, as Increasing goes, so goes Utah. And for the Utes to win their very first bowl game considering that 2017, it’ll depend on Rising to lead them.2 Associated
X factor: Ja’Quinden Jackson. With running back Tavion Thomas done at Utah after a troubled season and a toe injury, Utah needed somebody in the backfield to step up. Sophomore Micah Bernard has done his part, however when looking ahead to this game and next season, it’s Jackson, a freshman, who might be a game-changer for the Utes offense. In the Pac-12 title game, Jackson had 105 backyards and two touchdowns on 13 brings and looked prepared to take on a larger function. The Rose Bowl might be the perfect setting for him to do simply that.How Utah wins:
Defense. Last year’s shootout against Ohio State in this game showed the Utes had the offense to hang with the Buckeyes, however they could not do enough on defense to outlive them. Penn State’s offense is not rather at the level of the C.J. Stroud-led unit, but the Nittany Lions are still a top-20 scoring offense and will be a handful. To the Utes’ credit, they just proved they might stop a top-three offense in USC. Restricting quarterback Sean Clifford and running back Nicholas Singleton will go a long way toward the Utes earning their first Rose Bowl win.Penn State With 11 runs of 20 or more yards, freshman Nicholas Singleton is part of a potent Penn State running game. Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire
Secret player: Sixth-year senior quarterback Sean Clifford will close out rather the journey at Penn State in what will be the 5th Rose Bowl appearance in school history. A four-year starter, Clifford is the school’s all-time leader in passing lawns (10,382) and passing goals (84 ), however has gone underappreciated at times. It’s his management that coaches and teammates admire so much, in addition to the way he’s set about his company in spite of some fans requiring gifted freshman Drew Allar. A few of that features the territory when you have actually been the quarterback as long as the 24-year-old Clifford has at Penn State. But this is his chance to go out a winner after returning for his senior season and leading the Nittany Lions to their first 11-win season since his first season as the starter in 2019.
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X aspect: The real freshman tandem of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen has been spectacular for Penn State. Best of luck in discovering 2 first-year running backs on the same group more skilled than Singleton and Allen, who have actually integrated for 1,771 rushing backyards and 19 touchdowns. They’re both difficult runners in between the takes on and have combined for 49 runs of 10 yards or longer; Singleton has 11 runs of 20 lawns or longer. Penn State’s running game is clearly in good hands for the future, and the immediate future is breaking a Utah hurrying defense that is ranked 16th nationally and permits simply 107 lawns per game on the ground.How Penn State wins: The Nittany Lions require to be able to establish their running game and take a few of the pressure off Clifford. The Utes really get after the quarterback. They’re tied for eighth nationally with 38 sacks and will do their finest to get Clifford in third-and-long circumstances. The very best way to prevent that is to have success running the ball on very first and 2nd down. Penn State will lack leading cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who is avoiding the game to get ready for the NFL draft. The Nittany Lions have actually created a lots of negative plays on defense and rank seventh nationally with 95 takes on for loss. That’s going to be essential in this game, as Penn State attempts to prevent Increasing from getting into a rhythm and rather require him into mistakes.