ALTOONA, Pa. -- Remember how, only a handful of days ago, everyone figured Penn State would be going to the Cotton Bowl to play Tulane?
I mean, with all due respect to Tulane, that game would have been ... a yawner. Sure, it still would have been a New Year's Six bowl, but playing Tulane would have excited basically no one.
So, then, just think about how incredible the past few days have been. Through a phenomenal sequence of events -- which weren't really foreseen by anyone until earlier in the week -- Penn State somehow, some way landed in the Rose Bowl.
And the opponent? It ain't Tulane.
It's a terrific Utah team and program, the No. 8 team in the country. This is about as good of a bowl game as you'll find, and absolutely the best possible scenario the Nittany Lions could have found themselves in.
This is a bowl game to be very, very excited about!
"Playing in the Rose Bowl is truly a special way to close out this season," James Franklin said in a university statement Sunday.
Amen to that.
Face it, bowl games don't mean as much anymore. They just don't, as much as many of us would like them to.
But this bowl game still means a great deal. Certainly to Penn State, which in all honesty, is very lucky to be here.
The Lions are 10-2, which is outstanding, but they don't have a signature win. Haven't beaten a ranked opponent all year. So, to be able to go to a Rose Bowl despite all of that is pretty darn amazing.
"Truly appreciate the opportunity," Franklin said on a conference call. "Obviously, the history and the tradition of the Rose Bowl speaks for itself. We had a phenomenal experience last time we were involved. Our players and staff could not be more excited about making the trip again.
“Whether you’re a coach or whether you’re a fan or whether you’re a player, the Rose Bowl holds a special place in a lot of people’s perspectives,” Franklin added. “I think, obviously, playing in that type of game and on that type of stage and against an opponent like Utah, I think it helps.”
It certainly helps that Penn State is here. And it helps that Utah is a really good opponent. But make no mistake, this is going to be an extremely difficult game for the Lions, against a Utah team that was praised Sunday for being incredibly "gritty."
The Utes are not a typical softer Pac-12 team that plays a finesse style and shies away from rugged play. No, this Utah team is physical on both sides of the ball, just like the Lions.
“Penn State is a tremendous opponent,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “They play great defense and have a couple really good backs with nearly 1,000 yards each. Turnover margin is in their favor. They do a lot of really good things, things that really good football teams do.
"It reminds me of us in a way and how we approach the game and how we go about our business.”
ABOUT THE UTES
A look at their schedule and results:
• at Florida: L 29-26
• vs. Southern Utah: W 73-7
• vs. San Diego State: W 35-7
• at Arizona State: W 34-13
• vs. Oregon State: W 42-16
• at UCLA: L 42-32
• vs. USC: W 43-42
• at Washington State: W 21-17
• vs. Arizona: W 45-20
• vs. Stanford: W 42-7
• at Oregon: L 20-17
• at Colorado: W 63-21
• vs. USC: W 47-24
Quarterback Cameron Rising leads the Utes, passing for 2,939 yards with 25 TDs and seven interceptions while completing 66.2 percent.
Tavion Thomas leads the team in rushing with 687 yards. Three others have more than 400 yards, including Rising at 409, so he's a dual threat who will have to be held in check by the Penn State defense.
The Utes rank 19th in the country in total defense, not far behind the Lions (16th).
"Really good football team," Franklin said. "Coached extremely well, an experienced, gutsy quarterback who's a competitor. And this is going to be a great game.
"After just watching them play here recently, tough, hard-nosed, disciplined, gritty team that finds ways to win all different ways," Franklin added. "I've got a ton of respect for what they do and how they do it, and it's going to be a tremendous challenge. That's kind of the first thing I thought of when I heard who the matchup was against."
Whittingham brought up Joe Paterno when discussing his feelings about Penn State as a traditional power program.
"I've been a college football fan since -- my dad played pro football, coached for many years -- so I've been a football fan forever and watched Penn State from afar," he said. "What a great tradition. That place is -- I've never been to a game there, but it looks nuts to play in that stadium with that crowd and those fans.
"Of course, JoePa was what I grew up with, him being the guy at the helm, so just excited. It's a storied program, a lot of tradition, a lot of history, ton of success through the years, and we're relatively new on the scene compared to what they've got going and what they've had historically."
FINAL CFP RANKINGS
Penn State was No. 8 in last week's College Football Playoff rankings, but dropped to No. 11 in the final rankings released Sunday. The Lions were surpassed by 7 Clemson, 8 Utah and 9 Kansas State. USC dropped to 10, leaving Penn State at 11.
Now, this is not a big deal at all this season, with a four-team playoff. But in two years, when the playoff expands to 12 teams, seeding will be extremely important.
How important?
Well, if the 12-team playoff were around this year, the Lions' first-round opponent would be ... Ohio State!
What? How can that be?
Because of the quirky way playoff seeding will be done with a 12-team field.
The four highest-seeded conference champions will be seeded 1-4 overall, thereby receiving a bye in the first round. Then the rest of the teams will be seeded 5 through 12, creating first-round matchups.
Even though Ohio State is the 4 seed in the playoff, since the Buckeyes didn't win a conference title, they would be the 6 seed overall. And in the first round of a 12-team playoff, the 6 seed would play the 11 seed, which in this situation would be Penn State.
It's weird, no doubt. And it could create some pretty fascinating and sometimes unfair matchups in the first round.
Anyway, Penn State will pretty much never want to be seeing Ohio State in the first round of the playoff, so when we do get to 12 teams, there's going to be a whole other layer in all this with regards to seeding.
TICKET INFORMATION
Here's what Penn State fans need to know about getting tickets for the game, from the school's release:
• Eligible Football Season Ticket Holders and Nittany Lion Club Members: online pre-sale requests are now available and run through Monday, Dec. 5 at 11:59 p.m.
• Student Nittany Lion Club [maximum 2 tickets each]: online pre-sale runs Monday, Dec. 5 from 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Penn State Students [maximum 2 tickets each]: online sale begins Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 7 a.m. – 5 p.m., pending availability.
• Alumni Association Members: online pre-sale requests run Wednesday Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. – 11:59 p.m., pending availability.
• General Public: sale begins Thursday, Dec. 8 at 10 a.m., pending availability.