Note: This story has been updated at the bottom.
ALTOONA, Pa. -- Wow, what a performance by Utah! The Utes clobbered USC in the Pac-12 championship game late Friday night, 47-24, much to the incredible delight of Ohio State fans everywhere.
The Buckeyes (11-1) now will advance to the College Football Playoff, while USC (11-2) lost its opportunity by falling to Utah for a second time this season.
Penn State is now guaranteed to go to the Rose Bowl to face Utah ... unless one other crazy thing happens.
The only thing that could keep the Nittany Lions from a trip to Pasadena would be if Purdue stuns No. 2 Michigan tonight in the Big Ten championship game.
That's it.
The Wolverines are favored by 16 points. Kickoff is 8 p.m.
If Purdue (8-4) wins tonight, it would be the Big Ten champion -- the conference title game determines that, not the regular season. And the Big Ten champion is locked into the Rose Bowl, unless it goes to the College Football Playoff. A Michigan win obviously sends the Wolverines to the playoff.
So, if you're supremely confident Michigan will beat Purdue, Penn State fans can go ahead and book your tickets to Pasadena. Although, given the zany nature of college football, you might want to give yourself a 24-hour cancellation window just in case.
Oh, and go ahead and start practicing saying Utes.
To be clear, what happened in the Utah-USC game probably had no impact on Penn State going to the Rose Bowl. Even if USC had won and advanced to the College Football Playoff, with Ohio State still No. 5, the fact that the Buckeyes went to the Rose Bowl last year and also in 2018 meant that they weren't going to return yet again.
These bowl games want different participants/matchups. And teams/fans want different bowl locations. Ohio State reportedly had already asked the Rose Bowl not to take it this year, and instead to take Penn State. So, as far as we know, that was already a done deal.
Unless ... Purdue beats Michigan. That was the only thing blocking Penn State from the Rose Bowl then, and it's still the only thing now.
One thing that did change because of the Utah-USC game is Penn State's opponent in the Rose Bowl.
Had USC won, then the Lions were expected to play Washington. That would have been a neat matchup because the Huskies are led by former Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who scored the infamous 2-point conversion to beat Penn State in 2020.
But Utah's win Friday made the Utes the Pac-12 champions, and guaranteed their Rose Bowl berth.
So now, what we'll get in Pasadena is the first matchup ever between Penn State and Utah. That fact alone gives the game intrigue, not to mention that it should be a fascinating on-field matchup between an explosive Utah offense and a stingy Penn State defense.
It should be a great game. And we know now that it's a lock.
Unless ... say it with me this time ... Purdue beats Michigan.
UPDATE: DONE DEAL
Michigan did indeed beat Purdue for the Big Ten title, 43-22, to improve to 13-0 and lock up its spot in the College Football Playoff.
That means Penn State will indeed be selected to play in the Rose Bowl against Utah, with the announcement coming Sunday afternoon.
The final CFP rankings will be revealed at 12:15 p.m. today on ESPN. Then, at 2:30, the New Year's Six game pairings will be announced on ESPN.
Penn State will be selected for its fifth Rose Bowl appearance, the others coming in 1922, 1994, 2008 and 2016. The Lions have never played Utah, which won the Pac-12 title.
GIGER'S TAKE
Here's how I see the College Football Playoff rankings:
1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. TCU
4. Ohio State
Alabama should have NO SHOT at making the playoff, since the Tide simply do not have a good enough resume with enough quality victories. Even though TCU lost to Kansas State, 31-28, in overtime for the Big 12 title, the Horned Frogs (12-1) still have a better resume than Alabama (10-2).
A strong case can be made that Ohio State should be the 3 seed and TCU the 4 seed. But the committee may not want to see a rematch between Michigan and Ohio State in the national semifinals, so the way to avoid that is to put Ohio State at 4 and make it play top-seeded Georgia in the semifinals.