Rose Bowl Picks, Predictions and Odds

Rose Bowl Betting Preview

Sportsmemo college football handicapper JM Sports offers his Ohio State vs Utah Rose Bowl betting preview for Saturday, January 1. At the time of posting, the Buckeyes from the Big Ten have dropped to a 4-point favorite over the Utes from the Pac-12, with the total sitting at 64 points.

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Rose Bowl	Betting Notes
Point Spread:	Ohio State Buckeyes -4 vs Utah Utes
Total:	64 Points
Game Time:	5:00pm ET / 2:00pm PT on Saturday, January 1
Stadium:	Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California
TV:	ESPN

Rose Bowl Analysis

Ohio State is coming off what is obviously the most disheartening loss of the season in the final week of the season against Michigan. Yet, one bad game does not define this Buckeyes teams, not at all. This Ohio State defense is allowing 21 PPG to the opposition this season (28.3 PPG allowed vs. teams over .500 // 26 PPG allowed vs. bowl teams), and 367 YPG allowed (416 YPG allowed vs. teams over .500 // 417 YPG allowed vs. bowl teams).

Ohio State offense has been one of the best offenses in the entire country without question. Their offense has put up 46 PPG this season (44 PPG against bowl teams), on top of 551 YPG, which stems from an offense that has put up 186 rushing yards per game & 365 yards through the air this season. Ohio State has put up a point for every 12 yards of offense this season, while allowing just 1 point every 17.5 yards of offense.

Even more impressive is how the Buckeyes are allowing just 3.6 YPC to the opponent, while gaining almost 10 yards per pass attempt on the season! That is one of the big reasons that Ohio State sits a top the FBS rankings as the #1 team in overall offense.

Utah has played a slightly easier schedule then Ohio State has so far this season, but that thought aside, Utah has played some defense that is as impressive as Ohio State, if not more impressive. Utah has played 8 games against teams over the .500 mark, and in those 8 games, nationally they rank #10 in YPG allowed, #10 in PPG allowed and #15 in YPP allowed against the best competition of their season.

The Utes have held teams to 21 PPG against the 35 that they are putting up every game, and they are out-gaining opponents by 109 YPG! This Utah defense is allowing a point every 15 yards allowed, but on the offensive side of the ball Utah posts a number of 12.3 yards per point!

When you look at Utah, in terms of ATS records, they have ended on a noticeably better note then they started the season. Utah lost 4 straight games ATS and they are 6-3 ATS since those 4 games, including cashing in on 4 out of the L6 (allowing just 15 PPG to opponents in the L6, which is 5.6 less points then average). Utah is 14-5-1 ATS in the L20 games as a D, 4-0 ATS off 6 straight wins against a non-conference opponent, 4-2 as a dog on a neutral site vs. opponents off a L, and they are 8-3 off B2B2B wins when they play an opponent off a L when they are a dog of 5 or more.

In recent bowl history Utah has covered 8 of their L10 bowl games, while bowl dogs of 5+ points off 3 straight wins of 14 or more are 9-3 ATS, but on the other end, bowl teams that allowed less then 14 points in 3 straight games are just 1-7 ATS.

If we dive into Ohio State’s record against the spread it is a similar story to Utah. They started the season a little rough ATS, going 0-2-1 in their 1st 3 games, but since they are a familiar 6-3. Even though Ohio State is 2-3 ATS in the L5, some of the trends are a little more convincing.

Ohio State is 12-3 ATS in their L15 games against the Pac12, they are 6-3 in their L9 bowl games, and 5-1 as a bowl favorite of 3+ points. Ohio State is also 15-6-1 in their L22 games off a double digit loss (10-4-1 off a double digit loss as a favorite), including a 4-1-1 record in the L6 as a favorite. On the other side of the trends, Ohio State is 3-9-1 ATS vs. a non-conference opponent off a loss as a favorite, 1-4 off a L as a favorite on a neutral site and 3-9 on a neutral site off a loss in general.

Interested in placing a bet on Saturday’s Rose Bowl? BetMGM is offering a $1,000 Risk-Free Bet for first-time bettors in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Colorado, Tennessee, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Washington DC, Wyoming, Mississippi, Arizona and Louisiana.

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Rose Bowl Preview from GoldSheet

It was the 47th-ranked Buckeye defense that failed the team just enough to drop them to the consolation prize of the Rose Bowl. Rumors are floating from Salt Lake City that Kyle Whittingham, who is the all-time wins leader at Utah and has coached the team for 17 seasons, is seriously considering retiring from the position after this game. The team is a veteran group that clearly loves him and will to everything possible to give him a big sendoff if that’s his plan.

Rose Bowl Stat Sheet

College football handicappers Ralph Michaels and JM Sports have put together a 66-page Bowl Betting Guide featuring everything from first quarter scoring to yards per point to plays per minute. Don’t place a bet on Saturday’s Rose Bowl before diving into this FREE download.

Rose Bowl Video Preview

WagerTalk college football handicappers Dave Cokin, Teddy Covers and Adam Trigger offer their Rose Bowl betting preview on College Football Daily.

WagerTalk Live Odds Screen

WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the moneylines, point spreads, first half lines and betting percentages for all of the college football bowl games, including this Rose Bowl showdown between Ohio State and Utah, from your desktop or phone.

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