We're almost a week away from spring camp opening up at Utah, and there's plenty of optimism in regards to the Utes potential this upcoming season. For good reason too, as the Utes return a majority of their 2018 production on offense and defense. As such, it's never too early for intriguing bowl game matchup predictions, and Watch Stadium's Brett McMurphy made a rather "rosey" prediction involving Utah.

According to McMurphy, he predicts that Utah will earn an NY6 Bowl, and in particular a matchup with the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl.

Here's the excerpt:

Rose Bowl – Jan. 1 (Big Ten vs. Pac-12)

Projection: Ohio State vs. Utah Until last year, Ohio State hadn’t played in the Rose Bowl in nine seasons. But now, the Buckeyes can make back-to-back trips to Pasadena for the first time since four straight from 1972-75. With Georgia transfer Justin Fields replacing Dwayne Haskins at quarterback, Ohio State will be the most talented team in the Big Ten. Somewhere, somehow, the Buckeyes will lose one game along the way that they’re not supposed to, which will keep them out of the playoff. Instead they’ll return to the Rose Bowl, which isn’t the worst consolation prize, to face Utah. Utah? Yes, Utah. Someone has to win the Pac-12, right? I’m going with the Utes, who suffered a ton of injuries last season to quarterback Tyler Huntley, running back Zack Moss and wide receiver Britain Covey, but still managed to win the Pac-12 South. They’ll all be back to work with new/old offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig, who returns to Utah after serving as the Utes’ OC from 2005-08.

After nearly earning an invitation to the Rose Bowl this past season, against what would be the Buckeyes, the intrigue surrounding the matchup is definitely there. Not to mention, this would be the Utes first ever invitation to the Rose Bowl game as members of the Pac-12 Conference. However, head coach Kyle Whittingham is no stranger to NY6 bowl games with a 2-0 record, which includes victories over Pitt in the 2004 Fiesta Bowl and Alabama in the 2008 Sugar Bowl.

The Utes have a prime opportunity this upcoming season, with a number of returning starters and a favorable schedule compared to last season. Predictions for the Utes in the Rose Bowl will be a common theme.

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