Tag: Ohio State vs. Utah

Ohio State vs. Utah Rose Bowl game draws massive audience

The Rose Bowl did some massive numbers for ESPN! #GoBucks #RoseBowl

It’s almost a given that the College Football Playoff semifinals and championship game will draw more viewers than any of the other bowls.

Throw that out the window when Ohio State is involved though. Add a Buckeye appearance on television with the excitement of a Utah fan base that had never been to Pasadena, and throw in the drama of the game, and well — it should be no surprise that the 48-45 OSU win in the Rose Bowl drew some massive numbers.

In fact, people tuned into the “Granddaddy of Them All” at the level of a CFP matchup, basically tying the number of viewers that watched Cincinnati and Alabama in the Cotton Bowl, with an average of 16.6 million television viewers ESPN announced Tuesday. The only game that drew more was the other semifinal in the Orange Bowl between Michigan and Georgia. That game drew an average of 17.2 million viewers.

Further, the 2022 Rose Bowl was the second-most-watched non-CFP bowl of the playoff era behind only the 2019 Rose Bowl that also featured Ohio State and drew an average audience of 16.9 million viewers.

Now, before you thump your chest about Ohio State turning on television sets and streaming devices again, consider that the Rose Bowl was on a Saturday, while the College Football Playoff semifinals took place on a Friday, with the Cotton Bowl kicking off at 3:30 p.m. EST when some folks couldn’t turn on a television set.

Still, the remainder of the New Year’s Six games didn’t approach the same stratosphere, and those are still big numbers when you compare things year-over-year.

What did we say about Ohio State turning on television sets?

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WATCH: What Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said about Ohio State after the Rose bowl

Hear what Utah coach Kyle Whittingham had to say about Ohio State after the dramatic #RoseBowl game. #GoBucks

Ohio State and Utah just staged an absolute classic at the Rose Bowl in picturesque Pasadena, California. It was a back and forth affair that had more twists and turns than a Jim Harbaugh press conference. In the end, the Buckeyes were able to come back from a deficit and take care of business 48-45 on a Noah Ruggles game-winning kick after quarterback C.J. Stroud and receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba supplied New Year’s Day fireworks for most of the game.

But Utah had a lot of fight in them, and there’s no doubt that the Ute’s toughness, fortitude, and talent left an impression on the Ohio State players and coaches. It’s all driven by the culture head coach Kyle Whittingham has instilled in the program. He met with the media after the game to discuss what he saw from the game and touched on what he thought of Ohio State and quarterback C.J. Stroud.

In case you missed any of the comments, we’ve got them here for you thanks to YouTube Channel of NBC4 in Columbus. Click on the below and listen to Whittingham rave about C.J. Stroud, the talent of Ohio State, some of the decision-making in the game, and more.

Hopefully, you have this one on your DVR so that you can re-live and rewatch it whenever you want a pick me up.

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Ohio State breaks five Rose Bowl records in win over Utah

Records are made to be broken and Ohio State just rewrote Rose Bowl history. #GoBucks

What a game! Things looked somewhat bleak for Ohio State in the first half, but we kind of thought if the defense could make some adjustments and get some stops, the Buckeyes still had a chance. And boy did they! The defense held the Utes to 10 points in the second half and the offense kept on rolling, setting some new marks in Rose Bowl history.

Records fell in the 2022 Rose Bowl, five of which were set by Ohio State and another record tied in a dramatic 48-45 effort against Utah.

First up was Jaxon Smith-Njigba who had himself a night. Smith-Njigba seemed to relish the role of the go-to guy, hauling in 15 receptions (a new Rose Bowl record) for 346 yards (a new Rose Bowl record). The previous mark was set by Keyshawn Johnson with 216 yards receiving in 1996. The 346 receiving yards also happen to be the most in the history of any Bowl game since Bowl games began.

Smith-Njigba also set a new single-season record at Ohio State with 1,606 receiving yards, breaking David Boston’s record of 1,435 receiving yards set in 1998. Smith-Njigba needed 177 yards to break the mark and got there in the first half before he decided to just obliterate the previous record.

C.J. Stroud also set some records of his own. The Freshman quarterback threw for 572 yards (a new Rose Bowl record) and six touchdown passes (a new Rose Bowl record).

Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr. also etched their names in Rose Bowl history, each having three touchdown receptions. Harrison Jr. saw more action with Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson opting out earlier in the week.

The Buckeyes offense also set a team Rose Bowl record by amassing 682 total yards as Utah could find no answer for the Ohio State passing attack.

These feel video game numbers, folks. Only they aren’t. They are real. And it’s clear that Ohio State is going to be a juggernaut on the offensive side of the ball come fall of 2022 once again.

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Five things we learned from Ohio State’s all-time classic win over Utah in the Rose Bowl

Here are five things we took away from the epic Rose Bowl win by Ohio State over Utah. #GoBucks #RoseBowl

It was another beautiful setting in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains on New Year’s Day, just as the Rose Bowl always is, and it was made even more beautiful by how the game finished. Ohio State won an all-time classic 48-45 in a game that could have easily gone the other way. We like to pull out five things from the game that are knee-jerk takeaways every game, and we’re doing the same here.

There’s a lot of layers to this one, and a lot of back and forth, so there’s plenty to talk about, plenty to remember, and things we will be discussing for days.

For starters though, here are five things we learned after the epic win by Ohio State over Utah in the Rose Bowl.

Ohio State vs. Utah three and out halftime review

Ohio State vs. Utah three and out halftime review. Defense. Defense. And defense? #GoBucks

The Utah Utes are playing amazing and really embarrassing the Ohio State Buckeyes, heading into halftime leading 35-21. Ohio State looks to be moving and grooving on offense, but their defense and apparently special teams has been atrocious. There is a ton of time left, but the showing in the first half on defense may be more embarrassing than what we saw in Ann Arbor against Michigan.

I know that the narrative for this game has been surrounding the fact that this game doesn’t matter and it is hard to disagree with that considering four of the best players opted out, but this game does matter. Here are three things that were noticed in the first half. It’ll matter a whole lot more if the Buckeyes continue to have this poor of a performance on defense.

WATCH: C.J. Stroud hits Jaxon Smith-Njigba for another long touchdown in Rose Bowl

Another long TD for Jaxson Smith-Njigba. #RoseBowl

A shootout has broken out in Pasadena. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes started out a little slow and are continuing to have to go blow for blow with a Utah team that hasn’t been able to be contained on offense so far.

However, it isn’t for a lack of trying by Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He already caught a long touchdown pass from C.J. Stroud earlier in the game, and now he has another one to try and tighten things up again.

Watch as Stroud finds Smith-Njigba over the middle, then lets him follow some blocks all the way to the end zone 52-yards away for the score.

Unfortunately, as has been the case all game long, Utah came right back and scored quickly on a long quarterback run. The Buckeyes still trail and have a lot of work to do on defense if they are going to claw their way back.

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WATCH: Jaxon Smigh-Njigba gets loose for an Ohio State touchdown

Jaxon Smith-Njigba pulls Ohio State within one score with a 50 yard score. #GoBucks

Ohio State has had trouble stopping the Utes offensive attack, but we thought that might be the case as this looks to be a shootout. No sooner did Utah go up 21-7, Ohio State came back with a 50-yard touchdown strike from C.J. Stroud to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Smith-Njigba is the veteran on the receiving unit now and stepped up big time. Stroud found the OSU receiver with an opening and proceeded to stiff-arm his way into the end zone, making the score 21-14.

See Smith-Njigba get the score with effort and heart to keep the Buckeyes in the game midway through the second quarter.

Ohio State immediately gave up a 99-yard kick return for a score putting the Utes back up by two touchdowns. Still plenty of time left, but the Bucks need to get this one figured out soon.

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WATCH: Marvin Harrison Jr. get Ohio State on the scoreboard

Marvin Harrison Jr. get Ohio State on the board with a touchdown. #GoBucks

With Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson opting to sit out, someone has to step up and fill the void in this Rose Bowl game. So far, that player has been Marvin Harrison Jr. who has made one spectacular catch and another for a touchdown.

After stalling on the Utah 25 and bringing up a 4th and 1, Ryan Day elected to go for it instead of taking the three points. C.J. Stroud dropped back and put one on the money as Harrison Jr. hauled in the touchdown over the shoulder in the corner of the end zone.

See the great catch that put the Buckeyes on the board in the 108th Rose Bowl.

Ohio State is trailing 14-7 early in the second quarter, but there’s plenty of time still left in this one.

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Dispatch: Chris Olave confirms he will not play in Rose Bowl

If you had your hopes up, we’re sorry. #GoBucks

By now you know that Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave has opted out of playing in the Rose Bowl. However, when pressed about the issue because of Olave practicing all week in SoCal, Ryan Day seemed to leave the door open just a wee-bit, basically saying that if Olave were to decide to play last minute that there’d be a place for him.

Consider that slim hope of seeing Olave one more time in the scarlet and gray in sunny Pasadena dead though, because according to the Columbus Dispatch (subscription may be required), Olave has confirmed that he will not be playing Saturday.

I guess we’ll just have to root for OSU and some of the young receivers to step up to make this Rose Bowl a memorable one with a Buckeye win.

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Ohio State availability report for Rose Bowl game vs. Utah

Here is who is available/unavailable for Rose Bowl vs. Utah. #GoBucks

We now know who will be available and not available for the Rose Bowl game against Utah Saturday afternoon. The Buckeyes will be without 22 players, including the four opt-outs that were announced earlier in the week. Those four players are Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Nicholas Petit-Frere, and Haskell Garrett

You had to wonder what the availability report would look like this week with the COVID-19 Omicron variant making life difficult again, but it looks like OSU is relatively healthy all things considered.

Ohio State never released information on why players are unavailable, so all we have to go with is a listing.

NEXT … Complete Ohio State availability report for Rose Bowl game vs. Utah

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