The Rose Bowl

Utah Utes (8) vs. Penn State Nittany Lions (11)

The Utah Utes have had an excellent second half of their season, going 6-1 and qualifying them for a fourth PAC 12 Championship appearance in the last five years. The Utes were able to defend their PAC 12 championship crown and go back-to-back by taking down the USC Trojans 47-24. The Utes found themselves down in that game by a score of 17-3 but responded with a 44-7 run that took the game out of doubt. At one point early in the second quarter, the Utes were given only a 16% chance to win, according to ESPN Analytics. 

This was a statement win for the Utes, as it knocked USC out of the college football playoff and added another chapter to Cameron Rising’s legacy for the Utes. Rising is the quarterback for the Utes and has had an excellent season with nearly 3,000 yards through the air and 31 total touchdowns. Besides his outstanding PAC 12 Championship, Rising proved that he had USC’s number earlier in the season as well. On October 15, 2022, Rising had 475 yards and 5 total touchdowns from scrimmage that propelled the Utes to a nail-biting 43-42 win. 

Each of these wins asserted the Utes over USC as they gave them costly losses in the most important moments of the season. This is just one example and testament to the Utes’ prolific and electrifying offense, which has averaged 40 points per game over the course of the season up to this point. Other than Rising, the tight end room – and specifically senior Dalton Kincaid – has been a consistent safety valve and option for Rising as the season progressed. After losing star tight end Brant Kuithe to a season-ending injury, Kincaid has taken full advantage of his opportunity. Kincaid has had 890 yards and eight touchdowns receiving which have cemented him as an excellent opportunity. 

With longtime Head Coach Kyle Wittingham’s leadership and balance, and Rising’s spectacular and splendid play, the Utes will give the Nittany Lions all that they can handle.

The Nittany Lions enter the Rose Bowl with a 10-2 record. They have been led on the sidelines by Head Coach James Franklin who was appointed for the position in early 2014. Over his years as a Nittany Lion, he has built up this program very nicely and given their fan base a lot to be proud of. 

This year, the Nittany Lions had the help of freshman running back Nicholas Singleton on the offensive side of the ball who has offered great relief in the running game. Filling up the stat sheet with nearly 1,000 yards on the ground and 10 rushing touchdowns, Singleton has proved himself as a true running back talent that the Nittany Lions could turn to. Notably, Singleton had 303 yards and four touchdowns over a two-game period in mid-September which helped in developing trust in the coaching staff that allowed him to get more touches going forward. 

Along with Singleton, senior quarterback Sean Clifford continued his campaign as a Nittany Lion with 2,543 yards and 22 touchdowns in the passing games. Over the course of the season, Clifford had five games with three or more passing touchdowns over the course of sixty minutes. 

While on paper the record for the Nittany Lions looks appealing, that doesn’t tell the full story. The Nittany Lions’ two losses came to the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes. These were the only two ranked teams that they faced this year and a major reason why the committee didn’t see them as a viable option for the playoff. Another reason why the committee didn’t look at the Nittany Lions like the other perennial teams in college football is because of their weak strength of schedule and how they didn’t have any statement wins on the year. When the Nittany Lions faced off against the Wolverines, they lost 41-17, and when they matched up against the Ohio State Buckeyes, they fell by a score of 44-31. 

The Nittany Lions have had a pretty opportunistic defense though, which forced 12 interceptions and had 12 fumble recoveries. With a good defensive showing and stellar games from Clifford and Singleton, the Nittany Lions could find themselves biting into some roses when the game comes to a close.

Brooks: Utah is just too good offensively for Penn State to keep up in this one. Utah also has a first-team All-American at a corner and Sean Clifford is quite turnover-prone, so expect Utah to force some turnovers. I have the Utes winning 39-24.

Brett: I expect the Nittany Lions to put up a good fight in this one, but struggle to keep up offensively with Cameron Rising and the Utah passing attack. I see the Utes winning the Rose Bowl by a score of 48-37.