The sun sets on the Rose Bowl right around 4:45pm the first day of each year.
There are few exceptions, like last year when the "Rose Bowl" was played 1,400 miles east of Pasadena in Arlington, or when an NFL Sunday bumps the game to Jan 2. But when it sets on schedule and on location next Saturday, Ohio State will be heading into the final quarter of its 2021 season.
For the Buckeyes it's a third-straight Pasadena visit in a college football landscape where they strongly preferred a different, lesser postseason location. Ohio State's players and even its beleaguered fans (hey, everyone) must recast this setback as something more palatable than a consolation prize.