The Stanford Cardinal will face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday in the 102nd annual Rose Bowl game.
For the Cardinal, this will be their third appearance since the turn of the decade; Stanford beat Wisconsin 20-14 in 2013, but lost to Michigan State 20-24 in 2014. Iowa has not seen the Rose Bowl since 1991 against Washington, the Hawkeyes lost 46-34.
Iowa’s last Bowl win was in 2010 when they beat Missouri 27-24 in the Insight Bowl and defeated Georgia Tech 24-14 in the Fed Ex Orange Bowl.
Stanford finished this season with a 8-1 Pac-12 record and 11-2 overall. They came into the season with only three returning starters, according to Defensive coordinator Lance Anderson.
“We had a very veteran group last year. A group that played very well,” said Anderson. “This year we knew that we were coming in with pretty much a whole new group.”
Iowa went 8-0 in the Big Ten and 12-1 overall. The Hawkeyes has a more experienced core with 14 returning starters. Junior quarterback C.J. Beathard made 15 touchdown passes and racked up 2570 passing yards this season.
“He’s got an extremely quick arm,” said Hawkeyes Offensive Coordinator, Greg Davis. “He’s very smart. He can extend plays. He can make plays on his feet.”
Fifth-year senior quarterback Kevin Hogan has made 24 touchdown passes and 2644 passing yards.
“What makes him so effective is the way he attacks the game plan,” said Cardinal Offensive Coordinator Mike Bloomgren. “He drives the ship in everything we do, to every run check that we put on him at the line of scrimmage.”
Both teams have an atypical offensive playing style.
“We do a lot of things, lot of techniques,” said Stanford offensive guard Joshua Garnett. “But at the end of the day we have a lot of tough, smart guys. It’s been a testament to Stanford football and the guys we recruited and who Coach Bloomgren has recruited.”
Stanford players who are Southern California natives include sophomore linebacker Bobby Okereke, Junior Wide Reciever Francis Owusu and senior safety Kodi Whitfield.
Kickoff for the Rose Bowl will be at 2:10 p.m. on New Years Day.
