OHIO STATE VS. UTAH EXPERTS MAKE THEIR PREDICTIONS

Ohio State football plays Utah in the 2022 Rose Bowl Saturday as the Buckeyes close out the season against the PAC-12 champions.

It’s not quite where the Buckeyes hoped to be after ranking No. 2 in the College Football Playoff entering the final week of the regular season in November, but it’s a historical accomplishment for Utah.

The Utes joined the PAC-12 in 2011 and will make their first-ever appearance in the “Granddaddy of them All.” After starting the season 1-2, Utah finished 8-1 in league play and throttled Oregon twice en route to its first Power 5 conference title.

Ohio State was trying to make the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row, but instead lost to Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines won the league and were selected to the CFP, and that led to the Rose Bowl selecting OSU.

So who wins the Ohio State-utah game?

Here’s what members of The Columbus Dispatch staff and Josh Newman of the Salt Lake Tribune think:

Bill Rabinowitz

Ohio State beat writer The Columbus Dispatch Ohio State 45, Utah 34 Utah is good enough and certainly tough enough to beat the Buckeyes, especially if OSU lacks motivation. But my hunch is the Buckeyes will treat this game as a way to ease the bitter disappointment of the Michigan loss and will play with intensity. Ohio State simply has more talent than the Utes, and that should be the difference.

Joey Kaufman

Ohio State beat writer The Columbus Dispatch Utah 38, Ohio State 31 There are a few reasons for Ohio State to be on upset alert in Pasadena, starting with the varying levels of motivation for the teams. While Utah is thrilled to be in its first-ever Rose

Bowl, the Buckeyes are recovering from the disappointment of missing the College Football Playoff. But beyond the intangibles, this is a difficult matchup for Ohio State. With a physical style of play on both sides of the line of scrimmage, Utah is the type of team built to beat Ohio State. It can grind out yards, and its front seven is difficult for opposing running backs to penetrate. For as much skill position talent resides on the Buckeyes’ sideline, it hasn’t always fared well in the trenches, most glaringly at Michigan, and that should again determine their fate.

Rob Oller

Sports columnist The Columbus Dispatch Ohio State 36, Utah 27 The Buckeyes are participating in a psychological study as well as a football game. To wit: is it possible for a finesse team to turn ferocious in five weeks? Was the embarrassment of getting outmuscled by Michigan enough to place a Rose Bowl-sized chip on Ohio State’s shoulder, big enough to trade punches with the physical Utes? If not, OSU’S talent won’t trump Utah’s toughness. But the hunch here is the Buckeyes have something to prove.

Josh Newman

Utah beat writer

The Salt Lake Tribune Utah 34, Ohio State 31 At least two things are clear heading into this Rose Bowl. The University of Utah is fully motivated, and it is going to be a pro-utes crowd. I have questions as to how motivated Ohio State is after the Buckeyes lost to Michigan, didn’t get to the College Football Playoff and now have to “settle” for the Rose Bowl. If they can at least slow C.J. Stroud down, I like the Utes up front, I like their ability to keep pace in a shootout and, ultimately, I like them to win a close game for the biggest win in program history.