Three keys to a Utah Utes victory: Rose Bowl edition
For the second year in a row, the University of Utah Football program has reached the "Grandaddy Of Them All" and will compete for their first ever Rose Bowl victory.
While the Utes are back-to-back Pac-12 Champions and most of the current roster has competed in this game before, a victory in Pasadena will require a complete group effort and near perfection in several key areas.
3. Score more than 30 points and don't turn the ball over
Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford (14) drops back in the pocket during the third quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Michigan State.
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports.
Breaking down Penn State's regular season schedule, the Nittany Lions were obviously one of the best teams in the Big-Ten and there are a few things that stand out from their seasonal stat sheet.
First of all, Penn State averaged 35 points per game this season and only scored less than 30 points twice (Michigan and Northwestern).
What does that mean for Utah? You're going to have to put points on the board and this very well could end being another shootout like we witnessed last season against Ohio State. Luckily for the Utes, they averaged 40 points per game this season so scoring shouldn't be much of an issue.
Another notable stat that Utah will want to keep an eye on is their points off of turnover comparison. For the year, Penn State scored 104 points off of turnovers while only allowing 24.
Simply put, hang onto the football or else the Nittany Lions will make you pay.
2. Rising needs to play like he did against USC
Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising hoists the Pac-12 Championship trophy after the game against the Southern California Trojans at Allegiant Stadium.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports.
While Cam Rising was consistent and really good for a majority of the season, he was a different beast against USC both times this year and thats the player he needs to be in Pasadena.
Against the Trojans this season, Rising had a combined 725 yards and five touchdowns on a 66% clip with zero interceptions. He also added 78 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns.
Thats the Rising that Utah needs in order to win the Tournament of Roses. They need an efficient, smart, aggressive and consistent performance from No. 7 with almost no mistakes. No overthrown or under-thrown balls. No miscues. No turnovers. Just pure aggression and an unwillingness to lose for the second year in a row.
1. Move the ball on the ground and replicate what Michigan did
Utah Utes quarterback Ja'Quinden Jackson (3) runs the ball for a touchdown against the Southern California Trojans during the second half of the PAC-12 Football Championship at Allegiant Stadium.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
When you break down Penn State's two loses, one thing in particular stands out. Yards on the ground. Between Michigan and Ohio State, Penn state allowed an average of 264 yards as opposed to their seasonal average of 105.1. They also only gained an average of 104 yards per game opposed to their seasonal average of 182.
In their worse loss of the season to the Wolverines, The Lions gave up 418 rushing yards and were blown out 41-17. Both Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum went for more than 170 yards and combined for four touchdowns. Now, is that what will be required of Jackson and the Utah offense in order to win next week? No. But what Michigan was able to do is what Utah should do their best to try and replicate.
For the year, the Utes averaged 220 yards per game and that should be the magic number to defeat Penn State. In their best win of the season, Utah posted 223 yards on the ground, nearly half of which came from Jackson.
As for the defense, Utah will have to dominate the trenches and do their best to disrupt true-freshman Nicholas Singleton.
While Singleton has had a phenomenal first season at Penn State and has set a few freshmen records, his inexperience is fairly obvious at times and it's clear he's still adjusting to the college level.
If Utah can remain disciplined amongst the front seven and deliver punishing initial tackles, Singleton will struggle. They also cannot give up the edge as Singleton has been known to go for sizable gains if he can get around the end.
Overall, it's probably a safe bet to say that whoever produces the most on the ground will win the game as the teams are very similar.
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