2023 Rose Bowl Odds
The Rose Bowl, also known as “The Granddaddy of Them All,” is one of the highlights of the college football postseason.
Tradition, pomp and circumstance are all here, as is some major betting volume at online sportsbooks across the nation.
While we can’t legally bet on the Rose Bowl here in California just yet, we can take a look ahead to find Rose Bowl odds when sports betting gets the green light.
2023 Rose Bowl betting odds
When legal online sports betting goes live, use this real-time odds feed for the Rose Bowl with the latest game lines from all of the top CA sportsbooks apps. Click through to claim the sign-up offer before registering and funding your account to place some bets.
Top sportsbooks for college bowl odds
Here’s a peek at some of the biggest names in the industry and what they have to offer for Rose Bowl game odds and college football betting.
DraftKings Sportsbook: DraftKings has been a massive hit in several legal markets. There’s great tech powering the engine and a whole host of options for college football bettors to explore all season long, including betting pools.
- Pros: Fast and smooth platform, plenty of betting options
- Cons: Not enough recurring promos for regular players
BetMGM Sportsbook: Featuring one of the biggest menus in online sports betting, BetMGM is a preferred place for many bettors. There are regular promos, plenty of different bet types and great features like the easy parlay builder.
- Pros: Big menu, regular promos, intriguing features
- Cons: Betting platform takes a little getting used to
Caesars Sportsbook: The name Caesars may need no introduction, but the company doesn’t rest on its laurels. For a sportsbook that’s simple to use with competitive odds and lots of incentives, take a look here.
- Pros: Simple platform, regular odds boosts, competitive odds
- Cons: Customer service can be on the slower side
FanDuel Sportsbook: As the overall market leader by volume, FanDuel is clearly hitting the right notes. College football bettors will find lots of different options to explore, including props and same game parlays, all on an easy-to-use platform.
- Pros: Easy to use, same game parlays, lots of props
- Cons: Could use more regular odds boosts
Most popular Rose Bowl bets
When you visit an online betting site in CA, look for an A-Z listing of all of the available sports. If you click on the football link, you can drill down into the college options.
A click or two will lead to all of the upcoming games going to the betting lobby in order by start time. When the Rose Bowl matchup has been set, you’ll see a listing like this:
| Moneyline | Spread | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | -220 | -4.5 (-110) | Over 52.5 (-110) |
| USC | +180 | +4.5 (-110) | Under 52.5 (-110) |
Spread and totals are super popular for college football betting, and plenty of bettors love the simplicity of wagering on the moneyline. Here’s what to remember about each bet type.
- Moneyline: You simply pick a side. The odds are negative for favorites and positive for underdogs. The range between the numbers indicates how close the matchup is.
- Spreads: A spread is set by the sportsbook. The options are the favorite minus the points or the underdog plus the number. Your pick has to cover the spread to win.
- Totals: This is a bet on the total number of points scored in the game. Sportsbooks set the bar with an estimate. Bettors then get to choose over or under that amount.
As one of the biggest highlights of bowl game season, the Rose Bowl is always heavily bet. And locally, it gets even hotter when you get Stanford football odds to win it, as they have done twice in recent years. The main pregame Rose Bowl betting lines bring in tons of action as a result, but there are also other options to explore. You can find many of them by simply clicking through the sportsbook game listing.
- Props: Additional ways to wager on the game. Props can revolve around the game, teams or players. Some will be over/unders, while others will have several choices.
- Alternates: Alternate lines provide bettors with additional options on the spreads and totals. Naturally, the odds will be adjusted based on how different the numbers are.
- Same game parlays: A single-game parlay bet is a multi-leg wager where you have to be right on all choices to win, such as moneyline, total and prop pick.
The exact betting options for college football can vary by market due to the rules set by individual states. For example, live betting and player props are allowed in some spots, but not in every single legal sports betting state.
We won’t know how California will handle things until legal sports betting legislation moves forward. While we patiently wait for that day to come, just know this: there will be more than enough ways for you to wager on the Rose Bowl and other college bowl games.
Who’s playing in this year’s Rose Bowl?
As one of the marquee games of college football bowl season, the Rose Bowl typically matches A-list program vs. A-list program. Traditionally, the game has been a meeting of the champions of the Big Ten and the Pac-12, two of the Power Five conferences in college football.
The Big Ten/Pac-12 matchmaking still holds true, but the implementation of the College Football Playoff has also led to shifts. As one of the New Year’s Six bowl games, the Rose Bowl is in the rotation of venues to host the CFP semifinals. It happens every few years. When it does, the traditional tie-in is not applicable.
Since the Big Ten and Pac-12 champs could also be in the mix for playoff spots, that can lead to other top teams from the two conferences squaring off. Regardless of the exact format, the Rose Bowl will feature two of the 10 best teams in the nation more often than not. In other words, there’s a fantastic matchup on tap each and every year.
Where is the Rose Bowl played?
As one of the most iconic bowl games on the annual docket, there’s a ton of tradition surrounding the Rose Bowl. Prior to the game, the annual Tournament of Roses Parade kicks things off. When it’s time for the game itself, the same historic venue has played host since 1923.
- Name: Rose Bowl Stadium
- Address: 1001 Rose Bowl Dr.
- Location: Pasadena, CA 91103
- Owner: City of Pasadena
- Operator: Rose Bowl Operating Company
- Capacity: 88,565
- Surface: Grass
- Opened: Oct. 28, 1922
- Other events hosted: Football, soccer, concerts, etc.
How to watch the Rose Bowl
During the college football regular season, games are broadcast by a number of different outlets. All of the major broadcast networks show games at various times, as do the top cable channels and their various subsidiaries. There are even networks devoted exclusively to specific college conferences.
In other words, games will be all over the map: from nationally televised affairs down to those broadcast to regional audiences. For bowl season, it’s a different story. ESPN and its family of networks are home to the vast majority of games, including the Rose Bowl.
As mentioned, tradition is a huge part of the Rose Bowl, and that translates to its broadcast time. It’s always in the same window: 5 p.m. ET on New Year’s Day. However, the day can shift based on when the holiday falls. For example, the 2017 game happened on Jan. 2, and the same will occur in 2023.
History of the Rose Bowl
The roots of the Rose Bowl Game go all the way back to 1902 when the “Tournament East-West football game” was contested between Stanford and Michigan. The game itself was a rout as the Wolverines destroyed the Cardinal 49-0.
Beginning in 1916, the game was held annually and officially took on the Rose Bowl moniker in 1923, coinciding with the opening of the host stadium in Pasadena, CA, which just so happened to bear the same name.
For decades, tradition called for the game to be a meeting of the winners of the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences. If we look back over the history of the game, just seven programs have appeared in the game 10 times or more.
| Team/Conference | Appearances | Record | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| USC/Pac-12 | 34 | 25-9 | 2017 - Won over Penn State |
| Michigan/Big Ten | 20 | 8-12 | 2007 - Lost to USC |
| Ohio State/Big Ten | 16 | 9-7 | 2022 - Won over Utah |
| Washington/Pac-12 | 15 | 7-7-1 | 2019 - Lost to Ohio State |
| Stanford/Pac-12 | 14 | 7-6-1 | 2016 - Won over Iowa |
| UCLA/Pac-12 | 12 | 5-7 | 1999 - Lost to Wisconsin |
| Wisconsin/Big Ten | 10 | 5-7 | 2020 - Lost to Oregon |
In recent times, the Rose Bowl has entered the rotation of host venues for College Football Playoff semifinal games. To date, the CFP has been at the Rose Bowl three times:
- Jan. 1, 2021: Alabama over Notre Dame, 31-14
- Jan. 1, 2018: Georgia over Oklahoma, 54-48
- Jan. 1, 2015: Oregon over Florida State, 59-20
The next CFP semifinal at the Rose Bowl is scheduled for 2024. For other years, the Big Ten and Pac-12 tie-ins remain in place, but it’s not always the champions of the respective conferences. If one or both of those conference-winning schools makes it to the CFP, then a runner-up in the conference takes that place.
Regardless of the exact incarnation, the Rose Bowl game has regularly matched two of the best programs in all of college football. Here’s a look back at the rankings of the teams involved over the last 10 years along with the final results.
- 2022: #6 Ohio State over #11 Utah, 48-45
- 2021: #1 Alabama over #4 Notre Dame, 31-14
- 2020: #7 Oregon over #11 Wisconsin, 28-27
- 2019: #5 Ohio State over #9 Washington, 28-23
- 2018: #3 Georgia over #2 Oklahoma, 54-48
- 2017: #9 USC over #5 Penn State, 52-49
- 2016: #5 Stanford over #6 Iowa, 45-16
- 2015: #3 Oregon over #2 Florida State, 59-20
- 2014: #4 Michigan State over #5 Stanford, 24-20
- 2013: #8 Stanford over #23 Wisconsin, 20-14