Stanford has been to the Rose Bowl three times in four years, and Pasadena has essentially become a second home. Heading into this year, Stanford’s chances of making the Rose Bowl another year initially looked good, but after a weak stretch during late September and October, many wrote Stanford off. However, there’s still a possibility that Stanford can play in Pasadena this January.
The Rose Bowl Committee is quite fond of tradition, and they traditionally try to stick to inviting the Pac-12 Champion to play the Big 10 Champion. In the College Football Playoff era, however, this is frequently not achievable as the Rose Bowl is either a playoff game or one of the conference Champions makes the playoffs.