It's a Happy New Year for Ohio State Football and the Buckeye faithful.
good morning, 2022. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/qSaT98YUZR
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) January 1, 2022
The final game of the football season looms in the early evening, and Ohio State is ready to take on the Utah Utes in the 108th Rose Bowl Game that promises to be among the most exciting of the New Years Six meetings slated for the first day of 2022.
Despite ushering in a new year last night and the butterflies of anticipation from The Granddaddy of Them All, the Buckeye players appear brimming with energy and excitement to take the field for the first time since the end of November.
GOOD MORNING pic.twitter.com/yj0br3G3X0
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) January 1, 2022
Nothing puts a pep in the step of an Ohio State Buckeye like watching Michigan lose its their College Football Playoff debut.
The lead-up to this Rose Bowl has been marked by several absences and departures, which has led many to believe today's meeting in Pasadena should be much more hotly contested than perhaps many expected a month ago. Even so, Ryan Day and C.J. Stroud will be eager to avenge their team's most recent performance and close out the latest campaign in Columbus with a rosy ending.
Here are a host of predictions from the various Ohio State Buckeye football forecasters on the 11W staff:
Eleven Warriors Staff Score Predictions
Dan Hope: Utah 35, Ohio State 31. "This game means more to Utah than it does to Ohio State, and the Utes are built to exploit the same weaknesses Michigan did."
Garrick Hodge: Utah 31, Ohio State 28. "I don't doubt Ohio State will give a valiant effort despite being undermanned with the four opt outs, but this is Utah's National Championship. I'd expect about 75 percent of the crowd to be pro-Utah. The enthusiasm and physicality of Utah will prove slightly too much to handle in the end."
George Eisner: Ohio State 34, Utah 24. "Today should be a showcase for the young talent that Brian Hartline and Ohio State have stocked in the receiving corps. Utah's run game will give the Buckeyes trouble on the ground, but the Utes will not have nearly the same success that the Wolverines did at keeping C.J. Stroud from scoring points."
Johnny Ginter: Ohio State 35, Utah 31. "The defense will look like they're in dire need of a revamp still, but this is an excellent opportunity for C.J. Stroud to show the haters that he's more than a guy who gets to throw to first round draft picks."
"Today should be a showcase for the young talent that Brian Hartline and Ohio State have stocked in the receiving corps.”
Andy Vance: Ohio State 42, Utah 24. “Utah is the type of team that can give Ohio State fits, but I have to believe the loss to Michigan has the Buckeyes hungry for a big win.”
Matt Gutridge: Ohio State 38, Utah 28. "Depleted Buckeyes find a way to win the program's ninth Rose Bowl – most in the Big Ten."
Ramzy Nasrallah: Ohio State 38, Utah 27. "There’s just no way the defense delivers a repeat of its Michigan turd again with a month-plus to think about it."
Check out this week's Eleven Warriors Roundtable for scoring predictions from Kyle Jones, Kevin Harrish, and Griffin Strom.
Will Ohio State Cover?
The Buckeyes opened as a touchdown favorite when their Rose Bowl pairing with the Utes first materialized. However, opt-outs for Ohio State and some further consideration of Utah's similarities to Michigan have shrunk that line down to merely four points on the day of kickoff.
In light of the adjusted spread, roughly 64 percent (9 of 14) of our staff predictions have Ohio State covering. Griffin Strom has the Buckeyes winning by a field goal — the only individual among the group to have Ohio State win with no cover.
Only George Eisner picked the Wolverines to beat the Buckeyes at the end of November — though he changed his mind in the scoring predictions piece prior to kickoff. Today, four of the Eleven Warriors staff have Ohio State losing the Rose Bowl. Kyle Jones expects the widest margin of loss for the Buckeyes at eight points.
What About the Over?
The Rose Bowl over/under is set at 64 points after opening at 67 and falling the same three points as the spread.
That move greatly affected Eleven Warriors expectations with respect to the point total in this game. Half of the 10 total staff that took the over did so on a total of 66 points, which meant that the opening line holding would have resulted in nine of the 14 total in the group choosing the under.
Kevin Harrish is the most bullish on the point total with an expectation of 80, while Bruce Thomas' prediction of 47 is the shallowest.
Eleven Warriors House Prop Bets
For the final game of Ohio State's season, make things a bit more exciting by following along with these custom prop lines set by Eleven Warriors. Make your predictions in the comments and compete for bragging rights.
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First team to score 30 points?
- Ohio State (-130)
- Utah (+225)
- Neither (+400)
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Will Julian Fleming set a new single-game career high in receptions today (5)?
- Yes (+150)
- No (-100)
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Will the Rose Bowl go to overtime?
- Yes (+1000)
- No (-2500)
Feeling reinvigorated by the new year and a fresh Michigan loss in the College Football Playoff? Start 2022 off with good vibes and a Beat Xichigan Tee from the new arrivals collection of t-shirts and more at Eleven Warriors Dry Goods.
