The Rose Bowl is the oldest bowl game in the country. The 102nd addition matches up the 11-2 Stanford Cardinal against the 12-1 Iowa Hawkeyes. Both teams fell just short of participating in the Bowl Championship playoffs. Stanford will be making their third trip in four years after winning the PAC-12 title game against Southern California. Iowa will be entering this contest after losing the Big-Ten conference championship to Michigan State.
Bowl: Northwestern Mutual Rose Bowl
Teams: Stanford Cardinal vs Iowa Hawkeyes
Date/Time: January 1, 2016 – 5 PM EST on ESPN
Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
Vegas Line/Total: Stanford -6 / O/U 53
Written by: Erik the Hun
11 – 2 Record – 9 – 4 Vs Spread 12/05/15 vs USC W 41-22 W -4.5 O 59 |
12 – 1 Record – 7 – 5 – 1 Vs Spread 12/05/15 vs Michigan State L 13-16 P 3 U 50 |
December 30, 2014 – Foster Farms Bowl – Stanford 45 – 21 Maryland January 1, 2014 – Rose Bowl – Stanford 20 – 24 Michigan St January 1, 2013 – Rose Bowl – Stanford 20 – 14 Wisconsin 14 January 2, ,2012- Fiesta Bowl – Stanford 38 – 41 Oklahoma St OT January 3, 2011 – Orange Bowl – Stanford 40 – 12 Virginia Tech |
January 2, 2015 – TaxSlayer Bowl – Iowa 28 – 45 Tennessee January 1, 2014 – Outback Bowl – Iowa 14 – 21 LSU December 30, 2011 – Insight Bowl – Iowa 14 – 31 Oklahoma December 28, 2010 – Insight Bowl – Iowa 27 – 24 Missouri January 5, 2010 – Orange Bowl – Iowa 24 – 14 Georgia Tech |
Stanford Outlook:
The Cardinals got off to a shaky start by losing to another Big Ten team, the Northwestern Wildcats, to kick off their 2015 season. Stanford then went on to win its next 11 out of 12 games on the shoulders of runner-up Heisman Finalist Christian McCaffrey. Stanford racked up 30 points or more in its lats twelve games and finished in the top 20 nationally in scoring offense.
Quarterback Kevin Hogan finished fourth in the nation in passing efficiency, recording 2644 yards on 283 attempts with 24 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. Hogan proved he is more mobile than one might think by rushing the ball 79 times for 312 yards and five more scores.
The all-purpose All American Christian McCaffrey had a season to remember. McCaffrey piled up 1847 yards rushing on 319 attempts and eight touchdowns. Stanford’s leading rusher was also their leading receiver. McCaffrey caught 41 balls for 540 yards and five more touchdowns. If that wasn’t enough, son of ex-NFL receiver Ed McCaffrey returned 36 kickoffs for 1042 yards and a touchdown.
Three Stanford receivers caught over 25 passes and collected 1276 yards and 14 touchdowns. Tight end Austin Hooper lead this group with six scores and his 31 catches went for 415 yards. Hogan uses the play-action pass to find his 6’4, 250 pound target in the red zone.
The Cardinal defense looked nothing like the dominant unit were used to seeing on the gridiron. Stanford allowed 23 points per contest and 375 yards of offense, ranking them 38th and 46th respectively in scoring and total defense. What is more telling about those statistics is the the Cardinal defense was on the field less than anybody in the FBS, as their offense was number one in the nation in time of possession.
Iowa Outlook:
The Hawkeyes came out of nowhere to win its first 12 games and taking the Big Ten West title. The three point defeat to Michigan State is all that separated the over-achieving Hawkeyes from playing in this years college playoffs. Kirk Ferentz’s team used a smothering defense and mistake- free offense to come up roses.
Iowa’s signal-caller wasn’t spectacular by any means, but limited turnovers and threw the ball accurately when asked. C.J. Beathard completed 61.4 percent of his 329 passes for 2570 yards and 15 touchdowns. Beathard’s five interceptions were a testament to his ability to not make the big mistake.
Jordan Canzeri and LeShun Daniels Jr. tallied 313 carries for 1585 yards and 20 touchdowns. Akrum Wadley and quarterback C.J. Beathard, pitched in another 733 yards and 13 more scores via the ground. Together the running game was formidable enough to keep opposing offenses on the sidelines.
Matt Vandeberg led the receiving corps with 61 catches for 639 yards and reached the end zone on three different occasions. Tight end George Kittle managed to grab a team leading six touchdowns on just 20 catches that went for 290 yards.
Iowa’s defense shined in 2015. The Hawkeyes finished 10th in the country against the run, allowing only 114.9 yards a game. Teams only managed an average of 18.5 points a game which ranked Iowa at 13th in the country.
Iowa was especially adept at stopping opponents drives by creating nearly two turnovers a contest. Defensive back Desmond King finished second in the country with 8 interceptions including one that he took back to the house. In all, Iowa snagged 18 interceptions and recovered 8 fumbles.
Matchup Analysis & Prediction
Analysis:
The Rose Bowl features two teams that will try to impose their will against one another on the first day of 2016. Iowa will try to control the clock by running the ball and limit Christian McCaffrey from doing to much damage. Stanford will look to get the ball to McCaffrey on the ground and through the air, keeping up the 30 points a game pace against a tough Hawkeye defense.
Stanford struggled against its only other Big Ten opponent this year and will need to limit their turnovers against an opportunistic Hawkeye defense. Iowa will need to take advantage of a mediocre Stanford defense and keep pace with their offensive attack to have a chance.
The 2015 Rose Bowl should be a closely contested affair that could be decided by one big play on offense or a game changing defensive effort. Sit back and tune in to see what plays out in the Granddaddy of ‘ em all.
Prediction:
To get further analysis from Ej the Rainmaker and Erik the Hun, check out our audio preview of the Rose Bowl using the audio file below…
