IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The gold standard at Iowa has forever been tinted with a dark shade of red.
That is, since 1956, when the Hawkeyes first visited Pasadena, California. They’ve returned just four times -- after marquee seasons in 1958, 1981, 1985 and 1990. And now to cap this season, on New Year’s Day, Iowa is headed to the Rose Bowl Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual against Pac-12 winner Stanford.
The College Football Playoff committee got it right, putting Iowa at No. 5 in its final rankings Sunday, two spots ahead of Ohio State, which heads to the BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl to face Notre Dame.