The late John Madden had a voice that was synonymous with the game itself at the professional level. In college football, that voice belonged to Keith Jackson, who died in 2018. He coined the phrase "The granddaddy of them all" in reference to the prestige of the Rose Bowl - a game he became synonymous with.
Since the days of Jackson calling Vince Young's heroic championship performance against USC, the Rose Bowl has evidently lost some of its shine. That's the baseline for this handicap as Utah and Ohio State meet in the traditional Pac-12 versus Big Ten clash.
Utah vs. Ohio State (-4, 64)
Line movement
Ohio State opened as a 6.5-point favorite - a curiously short number at the time. However, the Buckeyes then saw four key players opt out, causing the line to fall to -4 and the total to drop from its peak of 67.
On the field
Apparently, the Rose Bowl doesn't mean as much as it used to for Buckeye Nation. It was reported this week that Ohio State has returned roughly one-third of its allotted 20,000 tickets. On the field, the Buckeyes will be without star receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson along with left tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere. C.J. Stroud will thus have to play with next year's stars and not this years'.
The Utes' first trip to the Rose Bowl isn't going unnoticed in Salt Lake City, as they've scooped up well over 30,000 tickets to the biggest bowl game in the school's history. Utah's defense certainly doesn't lack ability, though depth at cornerback has been an issue. But the Utes will be catching a break, as two-thirds of the Buckeyes' star receiving corps will miss out. The front seven can play with anyone, and we've seen Ohio State have issues with similar groups in Oregon and Michigan - and that's with its starting left tackle.
The Buckeyes' defense takes a hit of its own as sack leader, defensive tackle Haskell Garrett, is the big opt-out on that side of the ball. The Utes' offense surged after Cameron Rising took over at halftime against San Diego State. While his three touchdowns almost brought his team back to beat the Aztecs, it's the 37.3 points per game in his starts since then that really stands out.
How to bet the game
Utah isn't flashy but will put points on the board. Every year, there's a team that falls short of its goal to reach the College Football Playoff and has to "settle" for another New Year's Six game. The opt-outs and fans' disinterest in a California trip tell me Ohio State is that team this season.
Ohio State is the more talented group, but I expect the Utes to attack as they did in two games against Oregon. Utah will jump on the Buckeyes and take a lead into halftime. OSU might be able to rally at halftime to win and potentially cover, but with a first-half line of +3 and moneyline of +130, you're not losing much in value by taking the Utes in the shorter sample size of the first half.
Hopefully, a strong start for the team more excited to be there means you can kick back in the second half and enjoy the traditional midgame California sunset over the Rose Bowl.
Pick: Utah 1H +3 / Utah 1H ML +130
Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.
