It's Penn State-Utah week: Time, TV channel, early storylines, the point spread, and more

Penn State faces Utah one week from today in the Rose Bowl. It’s the first meeting between the two programs, even though both universities have played football for a long time. The Utes enter the contest as the reigning PAC-12 champions, while the Lions won 10 regular season games for the fourth time under head coach James Franklin.

“Kyle Whittingham, known him for a long time,” Franklin said of the leader of the Utes two weeks ago. “Ton of respect for him. He’s been at Utah for almost 30 years. We both at one point were at Idaho State. I think he was the defensive coordinator at Utah when I was at Idaho State. I remember seeing him on the road recruiting a number of times.

“He’s done a great job. You watch them. I think if you’re a true football guy, you watch them, that’s what a team is supposed to look like, in my opinion. Offense, defense, special teams, complementary football there. Tough football team there. They’re a physical football team. They know how to win games in a lot of different ways. I got a bunch of respect for them.”

Get ready for game day with our early preview below.

Time and TV info

Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. ET on ESPN. The network’s top crew of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Holly Rowe will be on the call. Penn State-Utah can also be streamed on WatchESPN.

What is the Penn State-Utah spread?

Some oddsmakers are stilling calling the Utes a field goal favorite. However, other operators are now under that key number and list the Lions as 2.5-point underdogs.

Game week schedule for Penn State

The schedule will look a bit different than most game weeks. The team leaves for California on Dec. 26. The Rose Bowl festivities do not officially kick off until Dec. 28, however. The team will likely practice that day in addition to attending an welcome event at Disneyland. On Dec. 29, players from the offense and coordinator Mike Yurcich will speak to reporters in the morning before an afternoon practice that is partially open to the media. On Dec. 30, Manny Diaz and select defensive players talk to reporters before practice in the afternoon, which is again partially open, and then an event at famed Lawry’s Prime Rib will be held in the evening.

On Dec. 31, both teams’ rosters and coaching staff are made available for a full media day. The team will practice as well. On Jan. 1, Franklin and Whittingham hold a morning news conference that marks the final availability for both sides before kickoff. Penn State is likely to hold a walk through, as well. Then, game day is Jan. 2.

What’s up with Utah?

Utah will be without starting tight end Dalton Kincaid and top corner Clark Phillips II. Both opted out of the game to prepare for the NFL Draft, and they are a big loss for the Utes as Kincaid led the PAC-12 in receiving touchdowns with eight while Phillips II had the conference’s most regular season interceptions with six.

The PAC-12 champs will have quarterback Cam Rising under center, however. He threw for 25 touchdowns already this season and will surpass 3,000 passing yards on the year in Pasadena if he throws for at least 62 yards. With Kincaid out, Devaughn Vele will become the top target. He has six receiving touchdowns this season. Tavion Thomas is the team’s leading rusher, but he’s opted out and is off to the NFL. That will elevate Micah Bernard and Ja’Quinden Jackson into the top spots at running back. They have combined for eight touchdowns this season.

On the other side of the ball, Morgan Scalley leads a disruptive and sound Utah defense. Five different defenders had at least four sacks this season. Safety R.J. Hubert is a ball hawk, and position mate Cole Bishop leads the team in tackles. The Utes are very good at linebacker, as well, headlined by Karene Reid, Mohamoud Diabate, and Lander Barton. Overall, the Utah defense will be a very stiff test for the Penn State offense and vice versa.

Weather report

The early outlook, according to Weather.com, calls for the possibility of rain. “Mostly cloudy in the morning then periods of showers later in the day,” the site writes.

“High 59F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.”

Early Penn State-Utah storylines

–Are both teams down dealing with opt outs, or are surprises coming at the bowl site? So far, besides transfer portal additions, Penn State is only down corner Joey Porter Jr., in terms of NFL Draft opt outs for this contest. Receiver Parker Washington is also off to the pros but he wasn’t going to play anyway due to injury.

–With Juice Scruggs set to play in the Rose Bowl and then leave for the Draft, will Penn State get some game work at center for Hunter Nourzad or others with an eye toward next season?

–Is Penn State going to get offensive linemen Olu Fashanu and Caedan Wallace, plus running back Keyvone Lee, back on the field after all suffered injury setbacks at various times this year?

–Will Penn State split reps between Sean Clifford and Drew Allar as it did the rest of the year and only bring the backup in once the starter has put the game out of reach? We think so. But, time will tell.