Despite struggling early on in his academics, Holder would get a Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention as a junior. During his senior year, he ascended to the Pac-12 All-Academic second team.
The 102nd Rose Bowl brought two high performing football teams to Pasadena. Both the Stanford Cardinal and the Iowa Hawkeyes were given a chance to avenge the losses they endured in their last Rose Bowl appearances. For Iowa, it came in 1991 when the Washington Huskies defeated them 34-46. Stanford lost in 2014 when the Michigan State Spartans won 24-20. This year, players from both teams brought unique storylines and connections to the football game known as “the Grandaddy of Them All.” Senior strong safety Kodi Whitfield considered the Rose Bowl as a homecoming. This was Whitfield’s third Rose Bowl,
Pasadena, Calif. – The sixth-ranked Stanford Cardinal handily defeated the fifth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, 45 – 16 in front of an announced crowd of 94, 268 at the 102nd Rose Bowl, the Granddaddy of all bowl games on Friday, January 1, 2016. Stanford finished the season 12-2 overall while Iowa fell to 12-2. As much as football is a team sport, this game showcased the brilliant play of running back Christian McCaffrey, the son of former NFL wide receiver Ed McCaffrey. McCaffrey, the one man wrecking ball became the first player to have more than 100 yards rushing and 100 yards