If the Iowa Hawkeyes and Stanford Cardinal ended the regular season regretting that they didn't make it to the College Football Playoff, they have long since put those feelings to bed.
The fifth-ranked Hawkeyes (12-1) and sixth-ranked Cardinal (11-2) are getting ready to do battle Friday in the Rose Bowl, and that's a pretty good consolation prize for these two excellent teams.
This is the first meeting between Iowa and Stanford, but both have significant bowl histories, according to NCAA.com. Iowa has a 14-13-1 record in bowl games, though the Hawkeyes' last postseason appearance resulted in a 45-28 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers in the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl.