Rose Bowl Game Among Most Entertaining In Postseason

SALT LAKE CITY – CBS Sports college football writer Tom Fornelli ranked all 37 bowl games based on how good the game was this postseason.

Fornelli watched all 37 bowl games and ranked them, which according to his ranking, really enjoyed the Rose Bowl Game between Utah and Ohio State.

He also ranked the other two bowl games that BYU and Utah State participated in. CBS Sports put the Rose Bowl Game at No. 3 in the ranking, only behind the Cure Bowl and the Music City Bowl.

Fornelli placed the Independence Bowl between BYU and UAB at No. 10 in the ranking. The Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl featuring Utah State and Oregon State at No. 19.

I watched every single bowl game and ranked them because my generation of writer cares about football. Do you?https://t.co/DXIxj9I6BI

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) January 5, 2022

Here is what the CBS Sports writer said about the Rose Bowl Game:

“Is there another bowl game that manages to deliver absolute bangers as consistently as the Rose Bowl? I mean, not only was it the host of what might’ve been the greatest college football game of all time, but in the last few years alone, we’ve seen an incredible semifinal between Oklahoma and Georgia, a fun 28-23 Ohio State win over Washington, Oregon’s 28-27 comeback against Wisconsin and the insanity that was this game. For real, since the 2017 shootout that saw USC beat Penn State 52-49, the average final margin of the Rose Bowl has been 5.8 points. That’s including last year’s “Rose Bowl” between Alabama and Notre Dame in a College Football Playoff semifinal that was played in Arlington, Texas. Remove that game from the equation and the last five Rose Bowls have been decided by 18 points total.

“This game was simply incredible. Ohio State was missing several key players, Utah was without so many starters that it had to start a running back at corner, and it all led to beautiful football. Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud threw for 573 yards and six touchdowns, and Jaxson Smith-Njigba rewrote the record books with 15 receptions for 347 yards and three touchdowns. The game included a 2.5-minute stretch of game time in the second quarter that saw five touchdowns scored and only one from fewer than 50 yards outside the end zone. It only got better from there. Ohio State didn’t take its first lead until there was 4:22 left in the game, and at that point, you thought the game was over because Utah starting QB Cam Rising had been knocked out of the game with a concussion. But it wasn’t. Bryson Barnes led the Utes on a 57-yard touchdown drive to tie the game at 45 before the Buckeyes went 56 yards to set up the game-winning, 19-yard field goal with 9 seconds left. It was a game I never wanted to end.”

Here is the full ranking from CBS Sports:

1. Cure Bowl
2. Music City Bowl
3. Rose Bowl
4. New Mexico Bowl
5. Armed Forces Bowl
6. New Orleans Bowl
7. Potato Bowl
8. Gasparilla Bowl
9. Fiesta Bowl
10. Independence Bowl
11. Bahamas Bowl
12. Citrus Bowl
13. Boca Raton Bowl
14. Peach Bowl
15. Birmingham Bowl
16. Frisco Bowl
17. Outback Bowl
18. First Responder Bowl
19. LA Bowl
20. Frisco Football Classic
21. Duke’s Mayo Bowl
22. Sun Bowl
23. Sugar Bowl
24. Las Vegas Bowl
25. Alamo Bowl
26. Cheez-It Bowl
27. Myrtle Beach Bowl
28. Camellia Bowl
29. Guaranteed Rate Bowl
30. Quick Lane Bowl
31. Gator Bowl
32. Cotton Bowl
33. Texas Bowl
34. Liberty Bowl
35. Lending Tree Bowl
36. Orange Bowl
37. Pinstripe Bowl

Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com, Co-Host of Faith, Family and Football podcast with Clark Phillips III and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports.

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