James Franklin and Penn State will face Utah in the Rose Bowl on Monday.AP

Penn State returns to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 2017 as the Nittany Lions battle Utah on Monday. Kickoff from Pasadena is at 5 p.m. Eastern. 2 Inch Pipe Clamp

WATCH LIVE FOR FREE: Fubo.tv (free trial); DirecTV Stream (free trial); Hulu + Live TV (free trial). Also, Sling TV has promotional offers.

The Nittany Lions last played on Nov. 26, which was a 35-16 win vs. Michigan State. The Utes routed USC, 47-24, to secure a second straight Pac-12 championship.

Who: Penn State (10-2) vs. Utah (10-3).

Where: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif. (90,888).

Cable channel finder: AT&T U-Verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DIRECTV, Dish, Verizon Fios, WOW.

Live streams: Fubo.tv (free trial); DirecTV Stream (free trial); Hulu + Live TV (free trial); and Sling TV (promotional offers).

Announcers: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe.

Check out some of what Greg Beacham of the Associated Press wrote in his Rose Bowl preview:

The sun usually sets behind Arroyo Seco late in the third quarter of the Rose Bowl. The moment is often spectacular, with clouds turning pink and orange while the San Gabriel Mountains light up in dazzling reds and yellows amid the dying rays.

The sun is also setting on an era of Rose Bowl history Monday when No. 7 Utah (10-3, No. 8 CFP) faces No. 9 Penn State (10-2, No. 11 CFP).

“We’re playing in the last, I guess, traditional Rose Bowl,” Penn State defensive tackle Nick Tarburton said.

The 109th edition of the Granddaddy of Them All is the last that’s guaranteed to feature the game’s time-honored pairing of Pac-12 and Big Ten teams. The game’s status as a College Football Playoff semifinal next season and the expanded playoff in 2024 has put the future in flux for the sport’s oldest active bowl game.

“If indeed this does become the last traditionally slotted Rose Bowl, it’s a great honor to be a part of that, and we want to do it proud,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.

For such a tradition-rich sporting event, this uncertainty is unusual — but not actually unprecedented, as pointed out by Laura Farber, the chair of the Rose Bowl Management Committee.

While the Rose Bowl is a national New Year’s Day institution, kicked off by the famed Rose Parade and continuing to the 2 p.m. kickoff that leads to those famous sunsets, the big game has been played on days other than Jan. 1 — including this year because New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday — and featured all sorts of geographical matchups over the decades, particularly in its first half-century of existence when Ivy League squads and Southern powers often made the trip.

“It’s really hard to say what the future holds, because nobody knows,” Farber said. “What’s interesting is learning to balance between tradition and innovation, and being flexible and embracing the changes, because there’s been hyper-speed changes for the past year in college football, the past few years, really. We’ve had to be flexible, yet remind everybody how much this game means to so many people.”

This Pac-12/Big Ten matchup has everything necessary to go out with a bang.

Both programs are repeat visitors to Pasadena, with consistent track records of success under two prominent, respected coaches who never have won the Rose Bowl. The Utes won the Pac-12 and reached Pasadena for the second straight year in another high point on their impressive journey to national prominence, while the Nittany Lions lost only to playoff-bound Michigan and Ohio State in another double-digit win campaign.

For team hats, shirts or other gear: Visit Fanatics, Lids, Champs Sports, Dick’s Sporting Goods and New Era.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022).

© 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.

Cable Tray Frp Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.