In the end, Stanford held on to win the 99th Rose Bowl ever played, running out to a big lead in the first half and then hanging on for dear life.
Jordan Williamson’s second field goal of the game, a 22-yarder with 4:23 left, proved to be the decisive score, putting Stanford up 20-14. A subsequent interception by defensive back Usua Amanam iced it for Stanford.
Early on, it looked like it would be a runaway game for the Cardinal.
A little trickery went a long way for Stanford the first time it had the ball. Wide receiver Drew Terrell took a handoff on a reverse and launched a 34-yard pass that Jamal-Rashad Patterson hauled in down the middle. The Badgers weren’t fooled on the play, but Patterson made a fine leaping grab.
On the next play, wide receiver Kelsey Young ran around the left side for a 16-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Hogan’s 43-yard pass to tight end Zach Ertz set up a 3-yard Stepfan Taylor touchdown on the Cardinal’s second possession.
Wisconsin drove 74 yards only to come up empty. An apparent 8-yard touchdown by Ball was nullified by a holding call. Curt Phillips threw what originally was ruled a 10-yard scoring pass to tight end Jacob Pedersen. But on a replay review, Pedersen was ruled down at the 1-yard line.
That set up a 4th-and-goal play, and defensive end Ben Gardner stopped James White, who took a direct snap, for no gain.
Wisconsin forced a punt and soon was threatening again. A tipped pass was caught by Jared Abbrederis for a 22-yard gain, and Ball bolted 10 yards for a touchdown on the next play.
A 47-yard field goal by Jordan Williamson boosted Stanford’s lead to 17-7.
The Badgers took over on their 15-yard line with 2:23 left in the half and drove 85 yards. Stanford was caught with its guard down on a first-down play at the Wisconsin 29, and quarterback Phillips ran 38 yards down the left side. Phillips cut the lead to 17-14 on a 4-yard pass to Jordan Fredrick with 19 seconds left before the break.
Wisconsin outgained Stanford 151-99 in the first half and had an edge in possession time by about four minutes.
The second half became a defensive struggle, as Stanford’s offense stalled. In the end, it was the defense that won the game, and the Rose Bowl, for Stanford.