Utah Utes vs Ohio State Buckeyes Rose Bowl Betting Preview

Kick-off New Year’s Day with a matchup of top-10 teams as the No. 10 Utah Utes (10-3) take on the No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2) in the Rose Bowl. This game will be played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena Saturday, with kickoff scheduled for 5:00 pm ET.
Utah finished the season strong, winning six straight games, including the Pac-12 Championship over Oregon, 38-10. That was actually the second time in three weeks that Utah beat No. 15 Oregon. In the two games combined, they outscored the Ducks 76-17.
In the Pac-12 Championship, quarterback Cameron Rising had an inconsistent day. He threw for 170 yards and a touchdown, but he also had two interceptions. Running back Tavion Thomas did most of the damage as he rushed for 63 yards and two scores.
Ohio State seemed destined for a spot in the College Football Playoffs, but they were embarrassed by the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines in their regular-season finale, 42-27.
In the loss, quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for 394 yards and two touchdowns. TreVeyon Henderson rushed for 74 yards and a score as well.
Ohio State is the slight favorite in this one. They are -184 to win while the Utes’ moneyline sits at +148. The spread features Utah +4.5 (-114), and the over/under for total points is 64.
By The Numbers
Ohio State leads the nation in scoring this season. They are averaging 45.5 points per game. The Utes rank 19th averaging 35.1 points.
Defensively, these two are identical. They are tied for 21st, allowing opponents an average of 20.9 points per game.
Utah Looks To Stay Hot To Close Out Season
After a sensational season that included a Pac-12 Championship, the Utes would love nothing more than to cap it off with a Rose Bowl win over Ohio State.
To do so, head coach Kyle Whittingham will turn to sophomore quarterback Cameron Rising to lead the Utes. This season, he threw for 2,279 yards, 18 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He also rushed for 407 yards and another five scores.
The leading rusher for Utah is sophomore Tavion Thomas. He rushed 186 times for 1041 yards and 20 touchdowns. TJ Pledger also had a nice season on the ground rushing for 671 yards and six touchdowns on 97 attempts.
Defensively, the Utes are led by Devin Lloyd (107 tackles and four interceptions) and Mika Tafua (9.5 sacks).
Can Shorthanded Buckeyes Bounce Back From Disappointing Michigan Loss?
Aside from the Utes, the Buckeyes have a couple of other things they are battling against Saturday. First, with aspirations all season of a National Championship, will Ohio State be focused on what they may deem as an inferior bowl game?
Furthermore, the Buckeyes will be shorthanded in this one. Several players have indicated they are foregoing this game to prepare for the NFL draft, but possibly the most impactful are that of wide receivers Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.
Collectively, the two had 1,994 yards and 25 touchdowns receiving this season. Luckily for quarterback C.J. Stroud, he should still have his leading receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba. This season, he had 80 receptions for 1,259 yards and six touchdowns.
Speaking of Stroud, he threw for 3,862 yards, 38 touchdowns, and just five interceptions this season.
On the ground, head coach Ryan Day turned to Treveyon Henderson to lead the Buckeyes. He rushed for 1,165 yards and 15 touchdowns on 166 attempts.
Take Utah And The Points
Without a doubt, C.J. Stroud should be the most talented player on the field Saturday. The problem, though, is this just feels like a game that Utah will be more interested in than Ohio State.
This is somewhat exemplified by some of the players that won’t play, most specifically Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.
Furthermore, with a solid defense and an impressive run game, the Utes have the capability to keep Stroud off the field.
Ohio State still has a lot of firepower, but there is also a lot of value in Utah +4.5.