No. 8 Utah and No. 11 Penn State will compete in this season’s Rose Bowl Game, a matchup that could be the last traditional game between Pac-12 and Big Ten conference teams after an agreement with the CFP earlier this week allowed for the playoff to expand to a 12-team format in 2024-25.
Utah (10-3) will make its second appearance, having competed in “the Granddaddy of Them All” last year. Penn State (10-2) returns to the game for the first time since 2017 to make its fifth appearance.
Quarterback Cam Rising and the Utes earned a spot in the Rose Bowl Game as the Pac-12 Conference representative after winning back-to-back conference titles with a 47-24 win over USC Friday.
Rising was named the conference’s game MVP after defeating quarterback Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans for a second time this season.
Rising threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns against the Trojans.
The Nittany Lions did not play during conference championship week but were the third highest-ranked Big Ten team in CFP rankings behind No. 2 Michigan and No. 4 Ohio State.
Michigan and Ohio State, who will both compete in the playoff, were Penn State’s only losses this season.
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Quarterback Sean Clifford leads the Nittany Lions with 2,543 passing yards for 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 12 games played.