Rose Bowl Game Pres. by Capital One Venture X Prediction: Utah vs. Ohio State Odds

Jordan Ramsay | Updated Dec 28, 2021

The Ohio State Buckeyes will look to bounce back from a disappointing end to their regular season when they face the Utah Utes in the 108th edition of the Rose Bowl Game on New Year's Day.

Utah
10-3
AT
January 01, 2022, 5:00 PM ET
Rose Bowl
Ohio State
10-2
Pointspread +4.5 -105
Moneyline +154
Over / Under o +65

28%

Betting Action

72%

Pointspread -4.5 -115
Moneyline -185
Over / Under u +65

28%

Betting Action

72%

The college football season is coming to a close as No. 11 Utah is set to face No. 6 Ohio State in the 108th edition of the Rose Bowl Game on New Year’s Day.

The Buckeyes are 4.5-point favourites to win on the college football odds, with a total of 64.5.

Rose Bowl Game Pres. by Capital One Venture X Betting Analysis

Utah is making their first appearance in the Rose Bowl Game, but they should be coming in with confidence after closing out the season on a six-game win streak.  Although the Utes don’t have a winning straight up record as the underdog, they have managed to go 8-12 SU and 14-5-1 against the spread in their last 20 games as an underdog.  Utah was favoured in all but one game this season.  They took out USC 42-26 as a three-point underdog.  The Utes have covered in their last five games with a single digit spread.

This will be Ohio State’s 17th Rose Bowl appearance and third under head coach Ryan Day.  The Buckeyes were favoured in every game this season, but it’s worth noting they went 0-4 ATS in games when the spread was less than 14 points.  Those four games included straight up losses to Oregon and Michigan.  In Day’s tenure, Ohio State is 12-4 against ranked opponents, but they were 7-9 ATS in those games.

This is the second all-time meeting between the teams.  Ohio State blew out Utah 64-6 in 1986.

Utah Utes

The Utes have had success under head coach Kyle Whittingham, going 11-3 in bowl games during his tenure.  After ending Oregon’s bid at a spot in the College Football Playoffs with a 38-7 win in November, they met the Ducks again in the Pac-12 Championship on Dec. 3, taking them out 38-10.  Utah has averaged 39.7 points per game over their current six-game win streak.  They’ve won those games by an average of 24.7 points.

Quarterback Cameron Rising had 2,279 passing yards with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions this season.  Utah is just 2-2 in games where Rising has had to throw the ball more than 30 times, although he picked up nine passing TDs and just two INTs during those games.  The running back duo of Tavion Thomas (1,041 yards, 20 TDs) and T.J. Pledger (671 yards, 10 TDs) will be a key factor against an Ohio State run defence that gave up an average of 238 rushing yards in losses to Michigan and Oregon.

The Utes have the 13th ranked defence in the nation, allowing 317.8 yards per game, and 24th ranked scoring defence, allowing 20.6 points per game.  Consensus First-team All-American linebacker Devin Lloyd has proven he can be a game-changer, finishing the year with 107 tackles, seven sacks and four interceptions.

Ohio State Buckeyes

Despite having one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in Heisman Trophy finalist C.J. Stroud, Ohio State was bitterly disappointed in their regular season finale, falling 42-27 to Michigan and missing a spot in the College Football Playoff.  Stroud threw for 394 yards and two TDs in the loss.  In 11 games, Stroud has racked up 3,862 passing yards (9th in the nation) and 38 passing TDs (fifth) with just five interceptions.

Star receivers Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave have both opted out of the game and could be first-round picks in the 2022 NFL draft.  That leaves Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the No. 1 receiving target.  Smith-Njigba had a breakout year, finishing the season with 80 catches for 1,259 yards and six TDs.  TreVeyon Henderson could also be a big factor in this game.  The freshman running back put up 1,172 rushing yards and 15 TDs this year. The Buckeyes offence is ranked No. 1 in the nation in total yards per game (551.1) and points per game (45.5).

College Football Prediction: Who Will Win Utah vs. Ohio State?

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