Penn State, Utah featuring similar styles of play
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Rose Bowl
Who: No. 11 Penn State (10-2) vs. No. 8 Utah (10-3)
Time: 5 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: WRKY-FM 104.9
By Neil Rudel
nrudel@altoonamirror.com
LOS ANGELES -- The more Penn State's players watch tape of Utah, they more they see themselves.
"It reminds me a lot of Penn State," Nittany Lion quarterback Sean Clifford said before today's Rose Bowl against Utah. "They play fast, aggressive, and they're smart. That's how our guys are trained, as well."
Big Ten teams have a reputation for toughness on both sides of the ball. The Utes' mentality fits that, too.
"I think they're built very much so from an old-school perspective in terms of hard-nosed, physical, sound in everything they do," James Franklin said. "They've been able to typically dominate the fronts on the O-line and D-line. That's something that really jumped out to me right away."
The Nittany Lions welcome the physical challenge.
"It's going to make for a great game," Lion defensive PJ Mustipher said. "When you have two opponents who aren't afraid to be in low-scoring games, it can turn into a real bloodbath. We're looking forward to it. Utah's been in this kind of game, and so have we."
Utah (10-3) held eight opponents to 20 points or less.
"From watching their tape and looking at them all season, these guys have been out-physicaling every opponent they've played," Lion safety Ji'Ayir Brown said. "I feel like we're one of the most physical teams around, too. This is going to be a game of who's tougher. That's going to determine the game. Like the game was played way back when, when the game was played between the hashes."
For Utah, it all starts with quarterback Cam Rising, who threw for 310 yards in the Pac-12 title game against Southern Cal (a 47-24 Utes' win).
Rising also made tough runs in the open field that caught Franklin's eye.
"One of my favorite plays in that game is when the quarterback kind of hurdled and then got hit, and his helmet flew off," he said. "He popped right up, no hesitation. When your quarterback has that type of toughness, it resonates through the entire program."
Rising said it was the toughest hit he ever took, but then "it was on to the next play."
Rising threw for 2,939 yards this season with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions. As a two-year starter, his TD-interception ratio is 45-12. His two-year record is 20-7, including a 48-45 loss to Ohio State in last year's Rose Bowl.
"I've got a ton of respect for him," Franklin said, also noting Rising's flowing hair and mustache. "(And) I have hair envy."
Utah's run game is led by Ja'Quiden Jackson, a Texas transfer who rushed for 100-plus yards vs. USC and averaged 6.9 yards per carry this season, sometimes as a backup quarterback/running threat.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, 154-73 in his 17th season at Utah, has been particularly impressed with PSU freshmen running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
"Penn State reminds us a lot of -- bears a lot of similarities to us as far as commitment to the run game," he said. "They've got two outstanding freshman running backs, both of them approaching 1,000 yards, and they're very committed to running the football."
Whittingham also singled out the Lions' linebacking corps, most notably emerging freshman Abdul Carter, who led the team with 10.5 tackles for loss and six sacks.
"The whole defense impresses me," Whittingham said. "Without question, it's the best defense we've played this year. This is the best linebacking crew that we've seen all season long. (Carter) is a tremendous player. He's active. He's tough. He's just a guy that is obviously off to a great start in his college career."
Utah opened the season with a loss at Florida and also lost to UCLA and Oregon. In between, it won 10 games, including beating USC twice.
"It's been an interesting ride to say the least," Whittingham said. "We've suffered some setbacks right at the onset of the season. The positives were our team responded virtually every single time our back was to the wall. I'm proud of the way they handled the adversity. Showed a great deal of resiliency, and just kept fighting, and when all and said and done and the smoke had cleared, here we were in the Rose Bowl."
Game notes: PSU offensive tackle Olu Fashanu (foot) is returning for next season but his status against the Utes remain questionable. He missed the last four games and Franklin called him "a game-time decision." ... Fellow offensive tackle Caeden Wallace, who also missed time this year, has confirmed he'll return for 2023 and could play vs. the Utes ... Tailback Keyvone Lee, who missed the last half of the season, is available ... Franklin watched part of Saturday's CFP semifinals with Rams' defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, a close friend who is the godfather to one of his daughters ... Correction: PSU's Rose Bowl record is 1-3, not 2-2 as previously reported.