The Stanford Cardinal dominated the Iowa Hawkeyes and won the 2016 Rose Bowl.
Christian McCaffrey continued to make his mark in college football history on Friday.
In what is one of the most classic games in college football, the 2016 Rose Bowl was anything but for the Iowa Hawkeyes, as they got knocked out of the game early against Stanford.
In fact, McCaffrey was off and running from the start for Stanford. The game got started when McCaffrey caught a pass and took it 75 yards to the house on the very first play of the game. With a message to the Heisman voters that voted him runner-up in mind, McCaffrey continued to take Stanford down the field and set them up in good position to score again.
Kevin Hogan would get in on the scoring action on the next drive, when he busted an eight-yard run for a score. Things got worse right away for Iowa, as they would then throw a pick-six to Quenton Meeks, who went 66 yards for the score.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the McCaffrey monster returned and took back an Iowa punt 63 yards for a touchdown. With Iowa down on the mat knocked out, the Cardinal delivered the final blow before the end of the half, when they ran a genius play which involved faking a fumble and throwing deep to Michael Rector for a wide-open 31-yard touchdown.
In the second half, Stanford would chip in another field goal and Iowa would finally get some points with a field goal and a nice catch-and-run touchdown from Matt VandeBerg. They would also add another nice catch-and-run touchdown from Akrum Wadley for 31 yards. Hogan and Rector would connect on one more score to end the game, for a 45-16 victory.
More importantly, McCaffrey would set the yards record for the Rose Bowl with 368, and eclipse the record of Jared Abbrederis, who had 346 yards in 2012. It was a statement game from the sophomore running back and Stanford, as they won the 2016 Rose Bowl.
Highlights
Three Stars
3. Quenton Meeks, CB, Stanford
The Stanford cornerback put a major nail in the Iowa coffin early, as he picked off C.J. Beathard and returned it 66 yards for a touchdown.
2. Kevin Hogan, QB, Stanford
The Stanford QB was slinging the football all over the field on Friday. He threw for multiple touchdowns and even had a big running one early, as they rolled over Iowa.
1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
McCaffrey came to the Rose Bowl to break records. He did just that, as he broke the Rose Bowl yards record with 368 yards from scrimmage. He scored on the very first play of the game and also returned an punt for a touchdown. He put on a performance to remember forever.
Betting Odds
Stanford came into the game favored by six. With the win, the Cardinal covered the spread.
Up Next
The Cardinal finish the season with a record of 11-2. The Iowa Hawkeyes finish their season with a record of 12-2.