Rose Bowl Q&A: A Chat with a Big Ten Friend

The Ohio State Buckeyes watched closely on December 2nd, as the University of Utah destroyed the CFP hopes of the USC Trojans. By doing so, it opened the door for the Utes’ 2022 Rose Bowl Game opponent to make the 2023 CFP.

While this year’s game in Pasadena won’t be a rematch of the instant classic, there’s still plenty of intrigue. Both the Utes and Nittany Lions seem to be very similar teams. With that in mind, old UteNation friend, Kevin Noon of BuckeyeHuddle, reached out to give an opponent’s input on Penn State:

It’s a unique year where two Big Ten teams are in the CFP. Because of this, Utah is facing a more-than-worthy third-place Penn State team. With Michigan and Ohio State being their only two losses, just how good is this team?

Penn State had a tough draw being part of the Big Ten East with those games against Michigan and Ohio State and subsequently lost both of those games. Beyond that, only two teams played the Nittany Lions within 10 points: week one against Purdue and mid-season against Northwestern, a bad team that was able to rise up and give some of the top teams of the Big Ten issues, for whatever reason.

Under the old system, Penn State would not be facing Utah, the Nittany Lions would be nowhere close as the No. 3 team out of the Big Ten, maybe even No. 4 if you gave respect to a Big Ten West champion (but nobody is).

The Nittany Lions will be without a few key pieces including wide receiver Parker Washington (injury) as well as defensive back Joey Porter Jr. (opt out) and offensive lineman Olu Fashanu (opt out). All three are big pieces to the team with Washington being a leading receiver and the other two players projected first-round NFL picks. So, you can’t explain that away, you can’t just say, ‘Next Man Up;' those losses are real.

When I look at Penn State, the biggest thing that stuck with me is James Franklin’s insistence on sticking with quarterback Sean Clifford this year with Drew Allar waiting in the wings. Clifford did not come back to ride the bench, but Penn State did not enter the season looking to finish third in the Big Ten East either. Michigan held Clifford to 120 yards in a game that Penn State had no pulse. Clifford would go off for big yardage against Ohio State with 371 yards, but he would also throw three picks, one for a touchdown and he would be sacked three times in a game that the Buckeyes took it to the Nits.

Penn State played a lot better after that game the rest of the way and took care of business the way that you would expect. But it is real that Penn State did not come close to accomplishing its goals, and you have to wonder if Penn State is going to be interested in this game. That could have been said last year about Ohio State facing Utah in the Rose Bowl and we got our answer to that. While the Buckeyes had to deal with their own opt outs, Penn State’s touched several position groups and could be too much to ask for.

If you’re drawing up a game plan to attack Penn State’s defense, how would you attack them?

Penn State is solid against the run and the pass but saw different paths to their demise with Michigan running all over them and Ohio State passing all over them.

There can be a debate about just how good the Big Ten was in 2022, there were some pretty mediocre teams and looking at the numbers in a vacuum don’t tell the whole story. Penn State did not face many great passing teams and truth be told; how many great rushing teams were in the league?

So that creates an issue in trying to handicap this team, who are they really?

I am putting the ball in the hands of Cam Rising and telling him to lead the way. Penn State does not have a Micah Parsons on the team at this point and while you don’t want to force a quarterback who has been dinged up this year to become a focal point in the running game, Penn State should have issues defending the mobile quarterback, especially with the knowledge that he is more than just a runner and is more than capable as a thrower.

I would attack the edges, I would force Penn State to cover sideline-to-sideline, but don’t get too caught up in bubble screens and things of that nature, let your playmakers make plays, don’t be afraid to run between the tackles and make Penn State prove to you that they want to be at this game.

What’s the key to stopping the Penn State offense?

Hit Clifford and stop the run.

I know that sounds simple as a short statement, but that is what you have got to do.

Clifford gets rattled, if you can get to him, force him to speed up, get his happy feet moving and things will go downhill. With no Washington at WR, that means that Michael Tinsley (transfer from Western Kentucky) becomes more of a focal point. Bracket him if you have to, have safety held there and force Penn State to throw to its tight ends. Utah knows about great tight end play and won’t be spooked by that.

Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen have been the main part of this offense as a freshman running back duo. Singleton has 10 touchdowns while Allen has nine, the tandem has rushed for 1,771 yards from scrimmage and the Penn State run game sees a little more than a 50-percent play call rate.

Neither Singleton nor Allen really shined against Ohio State or Michigan. Can Utah slow down the run game without having to commit extra bodies in the box? That is going to be the big question. Both of these players are capable of breaking off big plays, but the Utah offense has shown that it can put up points and a lot of them. A missed play or two is not going to end the world if Utah can slow down other aspects of the offense.

Penn State will also be down its best offensive lineman, can Utah get after the Penn State QB the way it did against USC? If it can, it could be a tough day for the Nits.

What’s the honest perception of Utah as a football program in Big Ten country? It seems like the respect is growing and growing.

I can only speak of Ohio State fans, and they love them and will love them until Utah lets them down. I won’t get into their view on this game until the final question, so I don’t scoop myself.

Ohio State fans have a bad rep among many, but they know what they like and they like teams that either help their chances or hurt their rivals. USC is going to be a real rival once again starting in a couple years when USC and UCLA move to the Big Ten. USC is a rival already on the recruiting trail as Ohio State is now having to battle the Trojans for kids it was getting just a few years ago under Clay Helton and his predecessors.

The Urban Meyer connection to Utah and Kyle Whittingham also plays a lot in the respect of things. While there was some heat on Meyer at the end of his tenure at Ohio State and some heat when he was back in the news for the company that he was keeping, fans still have a positive few of Meyer for a large part.

Ohio State fans also like that Utah looks somewhat like a Big Ten team in many regards when it comes to playing a physical brand of football, something that you might expect to see in the Big Ten. That is not to say that Utah is a Big Ten team as its quarterback play has been much better than much of the league, so let’s not cloud the picture up too much.

Now, if Utah plays Ohio State again and gets the win, all of that respect will go away in a heartbeat, Ohio State fan love can be a fickle thing as nobody hates Ohio State as much as Ohio State fans, just imagine what that could mean for a team that is not Ohio State that wrongs the team.

Describe Ohio State fans’ emotions as they saw Utah trail early against USC, only to thump them in the end…

Ohio State fans were over the moon. They knew an upset was needed and that the TCU one might not be enough (and we will never know what would have happened with a USC win and TCU loss).

Fans were down when Caleb Williams was on early in the game and thought that the game might turn into one of countless conference championship games that were better on paper than on grass (or turf). While Ohio State fans have come to appreciate what Utah has done in the last couple of years, nobody is watching them often and knowing if the Utes are able to mount a comeback.

Once the tides turned, the fanbase took to social media and started believing that the right things were happening. The TV ratings numbers in Columbus and Cleveland proved that Ohio State fans were more than aware of what was going on as the game did huge numbers in the state and region.

Plus, Ohio State fans were pulling for CJ Stroud in the Heisman race and a bad night by Caleb Williams might crack the door open. That door remained shut as Williams won the award and the battle, but the Buckeyes are in it to win the war.

What’s your prediction for the Rose Bowl? Will you and Ohio State fans be rooting for the Big Ten or rooting for the Utes?

I don’t root for games, I just can’t. I will root for bowl locations that I can go to, matchups that I want to see and things of that nature but getting into rooting just opens a door that would be difficult to close.

As for fans, the Big Ten is not the SEC in terms of having a pack mentality and that a win for the conference is a win for the individual. Sure, there was a year not too long ago where the league won every bowl game except one, where Michigan let a win get away and Ohio State fans cheered that on, but often Ohio State fans can be heard saying that they don’t care what happens in the league, just as long as Ohio State keeps winning.

I expect Utah to be more into this game than Penn State, just the nature of Utah seeing a game get away from it last year to Ohio State and having that second chance to bring home the trophy. Penn State has a lot of hurdles to overcome with the losses of key players and while PSU is just 1-3 in the Rose Bowl with its last win coming in 1995 (vs. Oregon) is a non-College Football Playoff game going to move the needle enough for this team to empty the bucket?

I don’t think so. Penn State is a program that has had its run, has had its success and while it has been a minute since that success has been replicated, it is hard to say that a non-CFP Rose Bowl win is going to excite the senses of the Penn State team.

As for Utah, a win in the Rose Bowl is just about everything and while a team shouldn’t come into a season without hopes and expectations of going to the CFP, Utah is a team that is showing that it needs to be considered a legitimate threat week-in and week-out, year-in and year-out. Grab that Rose Bowl title and take that next step forward.

Utah does.

Utah 31 Penn State 27