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The new year is nearly upon us, and that means the Rose Bowl isn't far behind. Traditionally on New Year's Day, the “Granddaddy of Them All” will instead be on Jan. 2 this year (thanks, NFL). While waiting the extra day is unfortunate, the matchup between Penn State and Utah makes it worth it.
This year's Rose Bowl features two talented, hungry teams: No. 11 Penn State and No. 8 Utah. The Nittany Lions have been outright dominant for most of the year, save for their losses to Michigan and Ohio State. The Utes had a few more bumps along the way, but a dominant win over playoff-hopeful USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game instantly made this season a smashing success.
Although this is the first-ever matchup between Penn State and Utah, both teams are no stranger to the Rose Bowl. The Utes played in the same game just last year. While Penn State last played in this game during the 2016 season. Both games were instant classics, and this game could be the same.
With that said, here are three bold Penn State predictions for the Rose Bowl.
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3. Penn State holds Utah under 100 yards rushing
The Utes' rushing offense has been arguably their greatest strength this season. Utah averages 220.2 rushing yards per game, which ranks 10th in the entire FBS. The Utes have five different players with more than 300 rushing yards this season, although leading rusher Tavion Thomas has opted-out of the Rose Bowl.
That said, Penn State's rushing defense is the best Utah has seen all season. The Nittany Lions are allowing just 105.1 rushing yards per game this season, ranking 14th in the FBS. They have been on a tear recently too, allowing less than 100 yards in each of their last five games.
This matchup will be a battle of strengths, and whoever wins it will likely win the game as well. If the Nittany Lions' rush defense can keep up its hot streak, they will be smelling roses when the clock hits zero.
2. Sean Clifford goes out in style, tosses three touchdowns
It seems like Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford has been around forever. While six years isn't quite forever, it's close enough in college football terms. Clifford redshirted in 2017, backed up Trace McSorely in 2018 and has been the starter since 2019.
As hard as it is to believe, the Rose Bowl will be Clifford's final game as a Nittany Lion. He holds several school passing records, and it will be weird to not see him with the team going forward. For such a consistent part of the program, it only makes sense for Clifford to go out in a blaze of glory.
Clifford has been far from perfect this year, and has had some bad performances against Michigan and Northwestern. However, he has had some great performances too, throwing for three touchdowns on five separate occasions. He is coming off his best performance of the season, completing nearly 80% of his passes for 202 yards and four touchdowns against Michigan State on Senior Day.
If Clifford can put up a similar stat line in the Rose Bowl, Penn State will win and send him out on top.
1. Penn State wins on a last-minute score
The Rose Bowl has had no shortage of dramatic finishes in recent years. Since 2017, five of six Rose Bowls have been one-score games. The only exception was the 2021 semifinal game between Alabama and Notre Dame, which wasn't even in Pasadena due to COVID.
In that same timeframe, both Penn State and Utah have been on the losing end of those wild finishes. The Nittany Lions lost 52-49 to USC in 2017, while the Utes lost 48-45 to Ohio State last year. In both games, a last-minute field goal proved to be the winning score.
This time around, both teams will look to right past wrongs. This game will likely come down to the wire once again, and either team could win.
Penn State hasn't had many dramatic finishes this year, as only one of their games has ended within one possession. However, there's no bigger stage than the Rose Bowl to change that. A dramatic win in Pasadena would cap off a great season for the Nittany Lions.
