The Utah Utes and the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors square off at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex for the 2021 edition of the Ohio State Bowl. Will Utah snatch a bowl victory? Or will the Rainbow Warriors get a win in this game at essentially their home field? Check out our preview of this contest below.
Even though quarterback Charlie Brewer left Utah early this season, the Utes somehow managed to be bowl eligible, let alone win 10 games overall, including eight in the conference. An efficient offense and a sturdy defense helped the Utes shine all season long. Utah even took the Oregon Ducks out of the College Football Playoff race with a 38-7 win in the regular season then defeated the same program again a couple of weeks later, 38-10, to win the Pac-12 title. The Utes will enter the Rose Bowl matchup against the Buckeyes with a top 20 offense and a top 25 defense. They run the ball extremely well, averaging 218.7 rushing yards per game – good for 11th nationally.
The Utes, who have gone undefeated in their last six games, are 5-1 against the spread in their past six contests versus teams with a winning record.
Like the Utes, the Buckeyes won 10 games this season, though their dreams of an appearance in the College Football Playoff were shot down in a 42-37 road loss to the Michigan Wolverines late last November. Prior to that, Ohio State had ripped off nine wins in a row, which included wins against the likes of the Penn State Nittany Lions, Purdue Boilermakers, and Michigan State Spartans. Ohio State’s offense has been undeniably phenomenal this season. In fact, it ended the regular season tops in the nation with an attack that put up an average of 45.5 points per contest. Utah’s defense is stout, but the Buckeyes’ offense averages nearly 20 points more than what the Utes allow per contest. As for their defense, the Buckeyes have a quality stop unit that does very well against the pass, thanks in part to a pass rush that has produced 33 sacks this season.
Ohio State is 12-3-1 against the spread in its last 16 games versus Pac-12.
