Penn State has never faced Utah before, but that will change when the two programs meet in this season’s Rose Bowl. And as if the Rose Bowl wasn’t a game already worth watching just for the sake of tradition and pageantry, then the meeting between the Nittany Lions and Utes could be one worth watching even for the casual viewer.
And according to Brad Crawford of 247Sports in his watchability rankings of this year’s bowl games, this Rose Bowl is not one you are going to want to miss.
In a power ranking of the top 12 postseason matchups, including the College Football Playoff games, Crawford ranked the Penn State-Utah Rose Bowl No. 3 on his list, which is higher than one of the playoff matchups. The Peach Bowl playoff clash between Georgia and Ohio State tops the list (no real argument here), but the Rose Bowl comes in four spots ahead of the other playoff semifinal between Big Ten champion Michigan and TCU in the Fiesta Bowl. That ranking of the Fiesta Bowl may be lower than it should be, but it is interesting to see how he ranks that playoff matchup with the Rose Bowl.
Here is what Crawford said about the Rose Bowl in his ranking;
Penn State returns to the Rose Bowl for the first time since the 2016 season against an opponent who is now familiar with the setting. Utah is hoping its return trip to Los Angeles is more memorable than last season’s shootout loss to Ohio State after winning the Pac-12 title for the second straight year. These are two well-coached football teams gunning for their 11th win and a guaranteed top 10 finish to the campaign. We’re expecting an evenly-matched, four-quarter affair that comes down to the wire, potentially in a final possession scenario.
In other words, brace for being on the edge of your seat as the Rose Bowl comes to a close. And hopefully, for Penn State, history will not repeat itself with another heartbreaker like the 2017 Rose Bowl.
Penn State and Utah will meet in the Rose Bowl on January 2, 2023.
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