Penn State and Utah meet in the Rose Bowl on January 2nd with the Utes entering as PAC-12 Champions for the second consecutive year.
Cam Rising and Utah will face a surging Penn State team that finished the season on a high note and will look to send veteran quarterback Sean Clifford out on a victory. Both teams are amongst the best in the country, but there are key opt outs on each side.
Let’s get to the updated odds, sift through the opt outs, and find out who will win the Rose Bowl:
Utah vs. Penn State odds, spread and total
Utah vs. Penn State betting trends
- Penn State head coach James Franklin is 6-4 against the spread (ATS) in bowl games
- Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is 10-5 ATS in bowl games
- Utah went 7-5 ATS this season
- Penn State covered their last six games to finish the regular season
Utah vs. Penn State Prediction and Pick
The Nittany Lions finished the season on a tear, posting an average of more than 40 points per game over their last six games. They will face a Utah defense that showed cracks in it over the course of the season, ranking 67th in yards per play allowed, outside the top 80 in explosive pass and rush defense and bottom 25 in red zone touchdown percentage.
Penn State’s offense is humming at the moment, and they are strong up front, allowing 52 tackles for loss this season, the 20th lowest mark in the country. That shows up in scoring chances, where Penn State has scored touchdowns on 75% of red zone drives, the seventh highest mark in the country.
Key contributors on the Penn State defense are out, like future NFL Draft pick Joey Porter Jr. at cornerback, but Utah is also down their No. 1 target, tight end Dalton Kincaid, who hauled in 70 catches for 890 yards.
Utah’s offense is one of the best in the country, ranking in the top 10 in success rate and averaging 40 points per game, but Penn State’s defense should be able to stymie this methodical attack that is reliant on being efficient not explosive (outside top 100 in explosive pass rate) with a top 10 red zone touchdown percentage allowed this season.
Both offenses will score, but I like Penn State’s offense to win out with more ways to beat this Utah defense that isn’t as strong as it has been on the past. While I liked the over at early numbers (I would play at 51 or better), I’ll take the Nittany Lions to continue their upward ascent with a Rose Bowl win.
Track all of Reed’s bets at Betstamp HERE!
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
