Game Report: Stanford 45, Iowa 16

OPENING SALVO

Confetti filled the chilled California air, and the Iowa Hawkeyes walked away as Rose Bowl runners-up for the fourth consecutive time.

It was a complete team loss. Iowa rushed for 48 yards on 38 attempts. Stanford averaged 7.8 yards a play and sacked Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard seven times. The Cardinal returned an interception and a punt for touchdowns.

'Stanford just outplayed us every turn,' Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'They outplayed us. They did a great job. They're a veteran football team. It's hard to find — you can find less than a handful of guys that aren't seniors or juniors on that team, and I think that was a big part of it. Obviously, another big part of that was one of the underclassmen that's not a junior or senior, No. 5 (Christian McCaffrey), he's a very, very special player, too.'

Iowa finished 12-2 after soaring through the regular season unblemished. But the No. 5 Hawkeyes did set a school record for most wins in a season and returned to the national rankings for the first time since 2010. It was a disappointing end to a terrific season.

'It's been an unbelievable year with the group of guys we've got,' said senior center Austin Blythe, a Williamsburg native. 'Everybody working toward a common goal, working together. There was nobody standing off on the side doing their own stuff. Like Jordan (Lomax) said, just playing for these fans, this university and for a coach like Coach Ferentz is second to none.'

BY THE NUMBERS

7 — Sacks allowed by Iowa

57 — Years since Iowa's last Rose Bowl victory

4 — Consecutive bowl losses by Iowa

16 — Rushing yards shy of 1,000 this season for Jordan Canzeri

0 — Interceptions by Desmond King since tying school record Nov. 7

94,268 — Rose Bowl attendance

REPORT CARD

F — Stanford ran a fake fumble play that went for a TD. This was not a competitive situation.

— Marc Morehouse

D-minus — For those who say this is too generous a grade, I don't give an 'F.'

— Mike Hlas

F — It was a beautiful sunset. But the sun was shining on Stanford.

— Scott Dochterman

GAME BALL

Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey. The Heisman Trophy runner-up was as good as advertised. He rushed for 174 yards, caught four passes for 105 yards, returned a punt 63 yards for a score and added a 28-yard kickoff return. He totaled two touchdowns.

'McCaffrey, he's a great running back,' Iowa safety Jordan Lomax said. 'Everybody saw that today, and everybody's seen it all season long. His ability to elude tackles and stay on his feet. He's just a great player.'

McCaffrey finished his season with an NCAA record 3,831 all-purpose yards.

TRICK-OR-TREAT

Stanford set a Rose Bowl record with 35 points in the first half. How the Cardinal set the record was through a trick play.

Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan took the snap from center and placed the ball on the ground for a split-second behind him. Running back Christian McCaffrey approached the ball, then Hogan picked it up. Wide receiver Michael Rector slowly jogged off the line, then raced past Iowa cornerback Desmond King diagonally across the field. Hogan found Rector wide open for 31 yards to put Stanford up 35-0.

'I tell you what, that's been in the works probably for about six years,' Stanford Coach David Shaw said. 'I first saw Boise State do it with Chris Petersen there and always liked it, always looking for the right situation to do it. We've worked on it on and off at different times. But then for this game, it was kind of a group effort. Try not to give any one person credit, but it's one of those things when you talk about it everybody says, 'No, we can't do that.' Then we look at it again and say, 'Gosh, that could be really good. It could be really good.''

SLIPPING AND SLIDING

Iowa players struggled all game with the Rose Bowl's bluegrass surface. On the game's first play from scrimmage, McCaffrey raced 75 yards past linebacker Cole Fisher and safety Jordan Lomax, both of whom slipped, for a score. Then on McCaffrey's 63-yard punt return for a score, both Iowa linebacker Josey Jewell and backup safety Kevin Ward slid and missed tackles.

'You've got to play with your feet up underneath you,' Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'That's what it gets down to. The surface was excellent. That's part of playing on natural grass. It wasn't the shoes. It's just they're a good football team.'

'We just had to keep our feet up underneath us,' Lomax said. 'We didn't change our shoes at halftime or anything. Pretty much you can't blame it on the cleats or anything. Everybody was on the same surface. It was an even playing field. For us to say it was a slipping issue would be incorrect.'

INJURY TIME

Iowa starting outside linebacker Ben Niemann injured an ankle early in the game and didn't return. Bo Bower replaced him.

WILD SCENE

Iowa fans encompassed about 60 percent of the fans inside the iconic Rose Bowl and were the most visible in the parking lots adjacent to the stadium. Some had arrived as early as 2:30 a.m. Iowa fans tailgated in droves and most were in place by 9:30 a.m. local time. And, as always, there was some comedic relief.

A Pasadena-area firetruck flashed its lights and blared its sirens at 10:30 a.m. PT. Iowa fans drowned out the sound with 'Let's Go Hawks.' Fifteen minutes later, several fans approached a golf cart filled with security officers and tried without success to have them chant 'Go Hawks.'

30 FOR 30

Stanford, the Pac-12 champion, scored at least 30 points for the 12th consecutive game. Iowa, the Big Ten West Division champion, allowed more than 30 for the first time this season.

NO OFFENSE

With Stanford ahead 38-16 and less than two minutes remaining, the Cardinal offense still attacked the Hawkeyes. On the second play of a drive after an onside kick recovery, Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan connected with Michael Rector on a 42-yard touchdown strike to provide the winning margin.

'Our job if we're on defense is to defend whatever they choose to run. Run, pass, really doesn't matter,' Ferentz said. 'So that's what you do when you're on defense, and we didn't successfully defend that play.'

UP NEXT

Iowa's 2015 season is complete. The Hawkeyes open the 2016 season against Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 3 at Kinnick Stadium. Here's the rest of Iowa's schedule:

Sept. 10 — Iowa State

Sept. 17 — North Dakota State

Sept. 24 — at Rutgers

Oct. 1 — Northwestern

Oct. 8 — at Minnesota

Oct. 15 — at Purdue

Oct. 22 — Wisconsin

Oct. 29 — idle

Nov. 5 — at Penn State

Nov. 12 — Michigan

Nov. 19 — at Illinois

Nov. 25 — Nebraska

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com