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The 2016 Rose Bowl presented by Northwestern Mutual will feature a matchup between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Stanford Cardinal.

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Rose Bowl presented by Northwestern Mutual Broadcast Info

Date: Friday, January 1
Time: 5:00 pm ET
Network: ESPN
Venue: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA 

Iowa Doesn’t Have A Bad Consolation Prize

Iowa will never get over coming within one tough stop from going to the College Football Playoff, but going to the Rose Bowl isn’t a bad way to end the fun. It might seem hollow, but if you told Iowa at the beginning of the season it would end up in Pasadena, it would’ve been ecstatic. It’ll be defense vs. defense, toughness vs. toughness, and Big Ten almost-champion vs. the Pac-12 champ. The Hawkeyes will bring the fire and the fans to face Stanford more than Ohio State or Michigan State would’ve. They’ll make this an event, even if it’s after the playoff fun the night before.

Until proven otherwise, Stanford is the Pac-12’s steadiest powerhouse program

Oregon fell from its throne. The L.A. schools suffered from bouts of inconsistency. And upstarts, like Arizona and Arizona State, disappointed. In the end, the Cardinal was left standing, winner of three of the last four Pac-12 title games. Stanford remains a rock-solid program, led by a rock-solid coach, David Shaw, who twice guided his kids back from deflating losses. Remember, this championship squad fizzled in the opener against Northwestern and dropped a heartbreaker to Oregon on Nov. 14. Yet, with the right combination of leadership, line play and Christian McCaffrey, the program locked down a Rose Bowl berth with Saturday’s win over USC.

For complete College Football Playoff coverage, visit our CFP home.