Ohio State Buckeyes: Rose Bowl next for Buckeyes

Ohio State football will finish its season in the Rose Bowl.

The sixth-ranked Buckeyes are headed to Pasadena, California, by virtue of being the highest-ranked Big Ten team not selected for the College Football Playoff.

They will face No. 11 Utah on Jan. 1 in the “Grandaddy of Them All.”

Ohio State has played in the Rose Bowl 15 times, most recently on Jan. 1, 2019, when it beat Washington 28-23 in Urban Meyer’s final game as head coach of the Buckeyes.

They are on a three-game winning streak in the Rose Bowl, having beaten Oregon in 2010 and Arizona State in 1997.

The Buckeyes have only faced Utah once, a 64-6 shellacking in Columbus in 1986.

Ohio State gained 715 total yards that day, still the fourth most in school history. The Buckeyes scored seven rushing touchdowns in that game, one shy of the school record.

Utah is 10-3 and has won six in a row. The Utes beat Oregon 38-10 in the Pac 12 Championship Game on Friday night to earn their first Rose Bowl bid.

Dunbar grad Tavion Thomas is Utah’s leading rusher and has been a key driver on their successful second half of the season.

He has rushed for 1,041 yards and 20 touchdowns this season.

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