It’s officially Rose Bowl week, as No. 8 Utah and No. 11 Penn State are set to square off in the "Granddaddy of Them All."
The Utes got here by beating No. 10 USC twice, while thumping them to win their second straight Pac-12 championship. The Nittany Lions punched their ticket to Pasadena by only losing two games—both to CFP teams, Ohio State and Michigan.
It’s time to take a look at the burning questions:
Can Utah stop the talented duo of Singleton and Allen?
The Utes defense has a challenge on their hands as they face the top running backs duo in the Big Ten. The freshmen are making history as they became the first Big Ten freshmen teammates to each rush for at least 700 yards in the same year.
Currently, Kaytron Allen has totaled 156 carries for 830 yards and nine touchdowns. While Nicolas Singleton has 149 carries for 941 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Utes rush defense ranks No. 16 nationally, only allowing 107 yards per game.
Both are big and physical backs that look to wear down their opponents. While opponents haven’t had much success running the ball against Utah this season, UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet showed Penn State it can be done. The bruising runner torched Utah on 22 Carrie’s for 198 yards and a touchdown the last time the Utes played in Pasadena.
How do the Utes replace Clark Phillips III?
The Nittany Lions primarily line up in 12 personnel, with two tight ends and two receivers. This works to Utah’s favor, as JaTravis Broughton is proven and Zemaiah Vaughn has emerged as another dominant cornerback. From there, depth will be an issue. The Utes have used a combination of safeties Cole Bishop and Sione Vaki at nickelback—an additional thing that plays into Utah's advantage with Penn State playing multiple reliable tight ends.
While it seems to be an advantage at the moment, the depth could remain a concern as the game unfolds. Redshirt freshman Kenzel Lawler has been elevated to the primary backup for both Broughton and Vaughn, with Faybian Marks out due to injury.
The cornerback depth isn’t as big of a concern as last year’s Rose Bowl, but it’s something to pay attention to.
How will Utah attack on offense?
There’s some intrigue about Utah's offense heading into the game after they hung 47 points on USC, who was ranked No. 4 at the time. They did so using a variety of receiving weapons and an emerging running game.
Dalton Kincaid is unable to play due to an injury, as he’ll now focus on the NFL Draft. That’s a huge loss for Utah, although Thomas Yassmin has proven he’s a ridiculously dangerous playmaker for quarterback Cam Rising and the Utes. Wide receiver Money Parks has also emerged in the passing game.
Utah always prides itself on feeding their running backs. The Utes rank No. 10 nationally averaging over 220.2 rushing yards per game. They did so with a patchwork group, as Tavion Thomas was a shell of his All-Conference self, Micah Bernard fought through injury all year, and Ja’Quinden Jackson was converted from being a quarterback. Also, don’t forget the early injury to Chris Curry. The point is, the duo of Bernard and Jackson has become lethal over their last two games. Bernard is also dynamic as a pass-catcher.
However they choose to attack the Nittany Lions, it’s suddenly a roll of the dice on how Penn State should prepare.
