2023 Rose Bowl presented by Prudential
109th Rose Bowl Game
Penn State Nittany Lions Utah Utes
(10–2) (10–3)
Big Ten Pac-12
35 21
Head coach: 
James Franklin		 Head coach: 
Kyle Whittingham
APCoachesCFP
9711
APCoachesCFP
7108
1234 Total
Penn State 77714 35
Utah 01407 21
DateJanuary 2, 2023
Season2022
StadiumRose Bowl
LocationPasadena, California
MVPSean Clifford (QB, Penn State) & Ji'Ayir Brown (S, Penn State)[1]
FavoritePenn State by 1.5[2]
National anthemUniversity of Utah Marching Band
RefereeMichael Vandervelde (Big 12)[3]
Halftime showPennsylvania State University Marching Blue Band and University of Utah Marching Band
Attendance94,873
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersChris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), and Holly Rowe (sideline)
International TV coverage
NetworkESPN Deportes; ESPN Brazil
AnnouncersESPN Brazil: Thiago Alves (play-by-play) and Weinny Eirado (analyst)
ESPN Deportes: Guillermo Celis (play-by-play) and Kenneth Garay (analyst)[4]
Rose Bowl
 < 2022  2024 > 

The 2023 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 2023, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The 109th annual Rose Bowl, the game featured Penn State from the Big Ten Conference and Utah from the Pac-12 Conference. The game began at 2:11 p.m. PST[5] and was aired on ESPN and ESPN Radio.[6] It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season. Sponsored by Prudential Financial, the game is officially known as The Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential.

This game was the final Rose Bowl with its conference tie in of Pac 12 vs Big Ten before the expansion of the College Football Playoff to 12 teams in 2024 (2025 Calendar year) and hosting the final four team playoff semifinal in 2023 (2024 Calendar year).

Induction ceremonies to the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame were held before the game honoring three-time Rose Bowl Game head coach Hugo Bezdek (1884–1952), recently retired Rose Bowl Stadium CEO Darryl Dunn, 1977 Rose Bowl Game MVP Vince Evans (USC), and 1987 All-American Lorenzo White (Michigan State).[7]

Teams

Based on conference tie-ins, the game featured Big Ten Conference team Penn State and Pac-12 Conference champion Utah. Utah earned their spot by defeating #4 USC in the Pac-12 Championship by a score of 47–24 on December 2. Penn State earned their spot after Ohio State and Michigan made it to the College Football Playoff. This was Utah's second consecutive Rose Bowl, with an appearance in last year's edition against the Ohio State Buckeyes, while this was Penn State's 5th overall Rose Bowl game, most recently playing in the 2017 edition against the USC Trojans.

This game marked the Nittany Lions' 100th anniversary of their first Rose Bowl Game. They were defeated by Southern California 14–3 on January 1, 1923. This was the first time Utah and Penn State had ever played each other.[8]

Penn State Nittany Lions

The Penn State section at the 2023 Rose Bowl.

Main article: 2022 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The Nittany Lions earned their 5th overall Rose Bowl bid after they finished the regular season as the 3rd highest ranked team from the Big Ten Conference. The two higher ranked teams in the Big Ten, Michigan and Ohio State, both reached the College Football Playoff, giving the Nittany Lions the trip to Pasadena. Penn State finished their regular season with an overall 10–2 record, 7–2 in Big Ten play. Their losses came to Michigan and Ohio State in the 7th and 9th weeks of the regular season, respectively.

Utah Utes

The Utah section at the 2023 Rose Bowl.

Main article: 2022 Utah Utes football team

After winning their second-straight Pac-12 championship, this was the second consecutive Rose Bowl appearance for the Utes, who lost to Ohio State in the 2022 edition. Utah finished their regular season with a 9–3 overall record, 7–2 in Pac-12 play. Their losses came to Florida, UCLA (in the same stadium), and Oregon. The Utes faced USC in the Pac-12 Championship, a rematch between the teams. Utah had defeated USC on October 15 by a 43–42 score (USC's only regular season loss), and defeated them again for the Pac-12 title, 47–24. The Utes entered the Rose Bowl with an overall 10–3 record.

Game summary

2023 Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential
Period 1 2 34Total
No. 11 Penn State 7 7 71435
No. 8 Utah 0 14 0721

at Rose Bowl • Pasadena, California

  • Date: Monday, January 2, 2023
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 54 °F (12 °C) • Wind: 2 mph (3.2 km/h) northwest
  • Game attendance: 94,873
  • Referee: Michael Vandervelde
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), and Holly Rowe (sideline)
  • Box score
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP Penn State Utah
1 0:07 11 82 4:51 Penn State Nicholas Singleton 5-yard touchdown run, Jake Pinegar kick good 7 0
2 7:55 13 75 7:12 Utah Thomas Yassmin 1-yard touchdown reception from Cameron Rising, Jordan Noyes kick good 7 7
2 4:47 6 70 3:08 Penn State Mitchell Tinsley 10-yard touchdown reception from Sean Clifford, Jake Pinegar kick good 14 7
2 2:38 6 75 2:09 Utah Ja'Quinden Jackson 19-yard touchdown run, Jordan Noyes kick good 14 14
3 9:25 3 95 0:52 Penn State Nicholas Singleton 87-yard touchdown run, Jake Pinegar kick good 21 14
4 14:49 3 94 1:29 Penn State KeAndre Lambert-Smith 88-yard touchdown reception from Sean Clifford, Jake Pinegar kick good 28 14
4 10:36 5 47 2:44 Penn State Kaytron Allen 1-yard touchdown run, Jake Pinegar kick good 35 14
4 0:25 8 78 1:47 Utah Jaylen Dixon 5-yard touchdown reception from Bryson Barnes, Jordan Noyes kick good 35 21
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 35 21

Statistics

References

  1. ^ Stockburger, George (January 2, 2023). "Sean Clifford named Rose Bowl Offensive MVP to cap off Penn State career". WHTM-TV. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  2. ^ "Penn State 35 - 21 Utah: Final | 2023-01-02 | College Football | Yahoo Sports".
  3. ^ Austro, Ben (December 4, 2022). "2022–23 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  4. ^ "kenneth garay on Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d "Penn State vs Utah Football Game Summary - January 2nd, 2023". NCAA.com. January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  6. ^ "2022 College Football Bowl Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  7. ^ "The Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Class of 2022". rosebowlgame.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  8. ^ "Winsipedia - Penn State vs. Utah". Winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
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