Pac-12 programs still measure success by New Year's Day trips to Pasadena, which means Stanford's run of three Rose Bowl appearances in four years makes the Cardinal the league's standard-bearer.
The Cardinal's mini-run of dominance is all the more impressive considering that decades-long gaps between trips were once the norm: There were no Rose Bowl appearances by the Cardinal between 1952 and 1971, and there was another long dry spell between 1972 and 2000.
Throw 2011 Orange Bowl and 2012 Fiesta Bowl berths into the mix, and the Cardinal have now been to five top-level bowl games in six seasons.