The Rose Bowl Game: Utah wins if…
The day of the 2023 Rose Bowl Game is here. No. 8 Utah faces off against No. 11 Penn State. The game kicks off at 3 PM MST on ESPN. The Utes are looking to take care of unfinished business after losing late in a Rose Bowl Game classic to Ohio State last year. The Penn State Nittany Lions are making their first trip back since 2017.
Rivals team sites NittanyNation and UteNation have gotten together to collaborate on game day content for the Granddaddy of Them All.
Here, Justin Morganstein and Alex Markham discuss how Utah wins this game…
Alex Markham, UteNation —
Utah wins if the defense can get consistent pressure on Sean Clifford. The Penn State quarterback’s weakness is a Utah strength. Clifford doesn’t do well when he’s under pressure in the pocket. Other than that, these two teams are so similar it’s insane.
With a month to prepare, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham and defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley have ample time to create a game plan that will disguise stunts and blitzes. If this was earlier in the year, dialing up a ton of pressure could be to Utah’s detriment. However, over the last half of the season, teams really haven’t been able to run against Utah and the sacks and tackles-for-loss have piled up.
This Utah defense is damn good, but even the season stats don’t do it justice, currently.
Justin Morganstein, NittanyNation —
Utah wins if Cam Rising can take advantage of Penn State’s holes with two critical opt outs.
Top wideout Parker Washington remains injured and will head for the NFL Draft, and No. 1 corner Joey Porter Jr. also opted not to participate in the Rose Bowl.
That means quarterback Sean Clifford will likely be heavily reliant on his tight ends, which he typically is. If Utah can take them away in short and intermediate scenarios, then Penn State could become one-dimensional offensively.
On offense, it is well known that the Utes are missing two of its top targets in Dalton Kincaid and Brant Kuithe but if the receiver group steps up and takes advantage of Porter Jr.‘s absence, that could be the difference in what should be an evenly matched affair.