ESPN College Football

PASADENA, Calif. -- Above each player's locker is a name plate that slides in and out. Following the Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio Tuesday night, Stanford kicker Jordan Williamson stood on his chair, slid his name plate out and stuck it in his backpack.

He wanted to remember the Rose Bowl.

It’s a far cry from where Williamson was 364 days ago. A day that was, for lack of kinder words, forgettable. In that locker room in Glendale, Ariz., Williamson sat in a corner, alone, and sobbing uncontrollably into a towel. A missed field goal at the end of regulation and a missed field goal in overtime were contributing factors in Stanford’s 41-38 loss to Oklahoma State. Actually, he was just 1-of-4 kicking on that disappointing day -- which included a 35-yarder with three seconds left in the game.

But Tuesday night, he nailed a 47-yard field goal in the second quarter and drilled a 22-yarder in the fourth quarter. Six points, it turned out, were the difference in Stanford’s 20-14 win over Wisconsin.

“It was definitely a long road,” said Williamson. “I wouldn’t have been able to come full circle without these teammates and all the support I was given. I’m glad they kept the faith in me and let me kick. The team played great. Couldn’t have done it without these guys. The defense stepped up and did what they did. They were clutch.”

Last year, everyone wanted to talk to Williamson. But he wouldn’t talk, couldn't talk. Instead, a nameless Stanford offensive linemen who happened to go in the first round of the NFL draft and now plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers -- we won’t say who -- used some colorful language to a reporter who tried to approach Williamson. (No, it wasn’t me).

Tuesday night, Williamson sat alone again. Only this time there were no reporters hounding him. He was just there, despite a 2-for-2 performance. Welcome to the life of a kicker.

“It’s something you get used to and I didn’t realize how it was until I got here and went through all of the situations,” Williamson said. “I’ve learned to embrace it.”

If this was the final stop on Williamson's road to redemption then the critical step came when he hit a 37-yard field goal at Oregon in overtime. That kick gave the Cardinal a 17-14 win over the nation's top team at the time.

“He’s grown up,” said Stanford head coach David Shaw. “He’s only a sophomore and he’s going to keep growing. He’s got so much talent. I’m watching him in warmups and he’s kicking the ball from 60 yards. And all I said to him all day was 'swing smooth.' That’s all he does. When he swings smooth, he can kick it from anywhere ... there was no doubt on those field goals. He put them through the pipes. And that’s our expectation for him and that’s his expectation for himself. He’s got the ability to be one of the best kickers in college football if he stays with it and hopefully he’s on that path.”

Kevin Gemmell offers his initial thoughts on where this Stanford team will be in the 2013 season.

PASADENA, Calif. -- Red, green and silver confetti covered the middle of the Rose Bowl field like a fresh coat of snow. Newly issued gray T-shirts that read, "Tree Mendous," strained to cover the shoulder pads of several Stanford players.

Cardinal coach David Shaw, encircled by security personnel, slowly made his way toward a stadium tunnel when he was stopped by a slightly gap-toothed woman in a red down jacket. They exchanged hugs.

"Great job," said Condoleezza Rice, the former U.S. Secretary of State who now serves on the Stanford faculty.

Moments later, the Stanford band, which prides itself on being cool, on being above it all, began chanting, "Da-vid Shaw! Da-vid Shaw!"

This is what happens when a program that hasn't won a Rose Bowl in more than four decades, well, wins a Rose Bowl. Dignitaries appear. Players dance in confetti. Legacies begin to take form.

Click here to read the rest of Gene Wojciechowski's piece.

PASADENA, Calif. -- Beauty is in the eye of whichever team has more points at the end of the game. Beholder be damned.

This is 2012 Stanford football -- white knuckles and all. If you want pretty, the Getty Museum is on the other side of the 405.

Anyone expecting anything different in the 99th Rose Bowl Game Presented by Vizio probably hasn’t watched much Cardinal ball this season. Stanford did what it does best: get a lead, hold a lead and win the game in the fourth quarter. It was what guided Stanford (12-2) to a Pac-12 championship, and it’s what enabled the Cardinal to beat Wisconsin 20-14 on Tuesday night.

“We’re not built for style points and we don’t blow teams out,” said Stanford defensive end Ben Gardner, who tallied six tackles, including a critical stop on a Wisconsin fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line. “It’s going to be a knock-down, drag-out fight and this one was no different. It’s going to be a four-quarter game with us. Wisconsin played very hard. They didn’t make it easy on us. It’s one of those things where at each pivotal moment someone new stepped up and made a play.”

After jumping out to a 14-0 lead and a 17-14 halftime lead, the Cardinal defense pitched a second-half shutout -- holding the Badgers (8-6) to 82 total yards in the second half. Running back Montee Ball, the Doak Walker Award winner, rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown, but was held to just 13 yards in the second half.

“We pride ourselves on being able to drag teams into the deep water in the fourth quarter,” linebacker Chase Thomas said. “We’ve been there plenty of times. … We’re used to making the big stops when we have to. That’s how we’re built.”

Indeed. This is the 10th time this year Stanford has been involved in a game that was decided by a touchdown or less. And they’ve won eight of those.

“We were prepared for this,” said running back Stepfan Taylor, who rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown. “We were ready for this kind of game. We’ve seen it before and we’re a mature enough team to be able to handle the close games.”

But it’s the Notre Dame game -- a 20-13 loss in overtime in South Bend on Oct. 13 (the last time Stanford lost) -- that head coach David Shaw singled out as the turning point for the season. You may remember a critical instant replay involving Taylor that didn’t go Stanford’s way at the end of that game.

“We could sit, sulk and think about what could have been,” Shaw said, recalling how he addressed the team. “Or we can say, 'From now on, we’re going to finish games. Don’t leave it up to officials. Finish games.' … That was kind of a galvanizing moment for us. We lost that game and it was so heartfelt and so devastating. It was right in front of us. We made a collective decision that we were not going to let games slip away from us. So we went on a tear. Eight games in a row. We kept the same mentality. We never got too high, we never got too low. That game really propelled us to this one.”

And now the Cardinal have their first Rose Bowl title since 1972 and their second victory in a BCS bowl game in the past three years. It would be three in a row except for a loss in overtime last year to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. Don’t think this win doesn’t wash a bit of the bad taste out of their mouths from last season.

“Oh yeah, more than a little bit,” Gardner said. “This is pretty darn sweet. We know what it’s like to be in tight games and we never had a doubt.”

Stanford has drawn comparisons to a Big Ten team for its physical style of play and run-first, stop-the-run mentality. And it was on full display Tuesday night -- much as it’s been all season.

“It’s football,” Shaw said. “It’s really, really physical football. There were guys that were tired. Every play you could hear the pads popping. It’s the kind of football that I grew up watching. And I’m proud that our guys played that style of football.”

Anything less wouldn’t be Stanford.

Stanford safety Jordan Richards talks about the team's win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

PASADENA, Calif. -- A nip-and-tuck defensive battle was expected in the 99th edition of the Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio. And neither Stanford nor Wisconsin disappointed as the Cardinal downed the Badgers 20-14. Here's how it all went down in Pasadena:

It was over when: Stanford’s Usua Amanam recorded the first turnover of the game when he intercepted Wisconsin’s Curt Phillips with two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Turning point: An interference penalty while Drew Terrell attempted to fair-catch a punt gave the Cardinal great field position with about 10 minutes left in the game. The drive resulted in a 22-yard field goal from Jordan Williamson and a 20-14 Stanford lead.

Game ball goes to: While this certainly wasn’t the cleanest game for Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan (12-of-19, 123 yards), he kept plays alive with his feet, rushing for 54 yards on seven carries, and he didn’t turn the ball over. As we saw, even one turnover can make the difference.

Unsung hero: After taking quite a beating following last season’s Fiesta Bowl, Williamson turned in a solid performance, hitting field goals of 47 and 22 yards.

What it means for Stanford: It’s a bit of good news for the Pac-12, which has had a disappointing bowl season. The Cardinal, playing in their third BCS bowl game in as many years, get to wash away a bit of the bad taste from last season’s Fiesta Bowl loss.

What it means for Wisconsin: The Badgers now are 0-for-their past three Rose Bowls, and the Big Ten has won just one Rose Bowl Game since 2000. It also caps a disappointing day for the conference, which saw Michigan, Nebraska and Purdue all go down.

Kevin Gemmell and Brian Bennett set the stage for the Rose Bowl.

Three keys for Stanford in today’s Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio:

1. Be yourself: The Cardinal got to this point by doing what they do best -- dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and playing hard-nosed, power football. Offensively, it’s power left, power right, rinse, repeat. Once that’s been established on offense, the middle is usually nice and open for tight end Zach Ertz on the play-action passes. Sure, there may be a wrinkle or two, and offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton might window dress a couple of things. But in the end, the Cardinal should feed Stepfan Taylor 20-25 times and let him do what he’s done exceptionally well for the past three seasons. Defensively, it’s stop the run first and foremost. That presents a challenge, considering Wisconsin is led by Montee Ball, the Doak Walker award winner, who rushed for 1,730 yards and 21 touchdowns.

2. The Hogan factor: What Kevin Hogan has brought to the Stanford offense is the ability to make plays with his legs and move the pocket. While Taylor will get plenty of touches, Hogan’s feet enable the Cardinal to run more bootlegs and a read-option package that keeps defenses guessing. He won’t be the centerpiece of the running game -- nor should he be with Taylor and a capable stable backing him up. But don’t be surprised to see a handful of designed runs for Hogan. Plus, if something isn’t there downfield, you’ll probably see a few runs by Hogan that aren’t by design. He’s proven to be an apt scrambler and has a knack for picking up first downs.

3. Penetrate: One of the things that makes Stanford’s front seven so talented is that it can usually get pressure with just four defenders, which frees up the linebackers to either create tackles for a loss, sacks or wreak general havoc in the backfield. Plus, if the Cardinal are able to get penetration early without sending extra blitzers, it opens up the defensive playbook later in the game for stunts and blitzes that the Badgers haven’t seen yet. Stanford leads the nation with 56 sacks, which is the most of any team since the NCAA started keeping it as a team record in 2005. The less they can do without getting too exotic early, the better off they are. But if that four-man rush is established, the occasional blitz should keep the Badgers off balance.

Three keys for Wisconsin in today's Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio:

1. Open it up: Wisconsin is Wisconsin, so of course the Badgers are going to do everything they can to run the ball. But even their offensive line is going to have trouble simply lining up and ramming the ball down Stanford's throat. The Cardinal are one of the most physical, fundamentally sound teams in the country and had the third-best run defense in the FBS. Wisconsin does not want to get into third-and-long situations in this game, because that's when Stanford -- which led the nation in sacks and tackles for loss -- can really wreak havoc. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada drew up a dynamic, diverse game plan for the Big Ten championship game and will need to do so again to keep the Cardinal guessing. Is there anything left in the playbook after that Nebraska game? "There's always more left," Canada said last week. "We can draw up plays for days and days." It's quite likely that quarterback Curt Phillips will have to make more plays and probably will have to throw more than the eight pass attempts he had against the Huskers. And Joel Stave, now healthy, could factor in as well. Wisconsin's bread and butter remains the running game, with Montee Ball, James White and X factor Melvin Gordon. But the Badgers will likely need more than that to solve the Stanford defense.

2. Stop Stepfan: Stanford's offense is more than just running back Stepfan Taylor. The emergence of Kevin Hogan at quarterback late in the season made the Cardinal more multidimensional, and you have to always watch out for their tight ends, especially Zach Ertz. But Taylor is still the engine that drives the offense, and Wisconsin would much rather see Hogan throw the ball around than deal with Stanford's powerful running game all day. The good news: The Badgers were very good against the run this year as well, ranking 22nd in the nation in stopping the rush. They are stout in the middle of the defensive line, though star linebackers Mike Taylor and Chris Borland will have their hands full with those tight ends. Wisconsin also does a good job of making opponents earn every yard down the field; in Big Ten play, opponents had only four total plays of 30 or more yards versus Chris Ash's defense. In Stanford's two losses, Taylor averaged just 3.6 yards per carry, more than a yard below his average. If the Badgers can make him work that hard for yards today, they will have a great chance.

3. Finish: Wisconsin knows all about coming up a play short in the Rose Bowl. A failed two-point conversion made the difference in a 21-19 loss to TCU two years ago, while last year's 45-38 setback against Oregon ended with Russell Wilson begging for another second on the Ducks' 25. But the Badgers don't even have to remember that far back to know close-game heartache. Of course, they lost four games by exactly three points, five by a total of 19 points and three in overtime. They probably would have lost every meaningful close game had Utah State made an easy field goal. It's highly unlikely that Wisconsin will blow out Stanford like it did against Nebraska, so any victory will probably have to include finishing off a close game for the first time since September. It doesn't help that the team's kicking game has been pretty bad; the Badgers were a Big Ten-worst 10-of-18 on field goals this year, and Kyle French missed key tries in the overtime losses to Ohio State and Penn State to end the regular season. But here is why Wisconsin fans have hope that a close game might finally go their way in Pasadena: Barry Alvarez will be making the late-game decisions.

Stanford (11-2) vs. Wisconsin (8-5)

Who to watch: The running backs. Wisconsin’s Montee Ball -- the Doak Walker award winner -- and Stanford’s Stepfan Taylor -- a three-time 1,000-yard rusher -- are two of the best in the game. Both are the engines that make their respective machines go. Each team will work furiously to establish a running game. So while you are watching two of the elite running backs in the country, keep an eye on the lines as well -- because how each team’s big boys do will go a long way toward determining how the running backs do.

What to watch: For sure, the fourth quarter. These two teams have combined to play six overtime games, Stanford has had to overcome ties or deficits six times in the fourth quarter, and Wisconsin has lost all five of its games by a combined 19 points (four field goals and a touchdown). If this game is a microcosm of these teams’ seasons, then there should be high drama up until the final play.

Why to watch: Aside from the fact that it’s the Granddaddy, this game is oozing with subplots. You have Barry Alvarez making his return to coaching -- although for just one game. You have Stanford playing in its third consecutive BCS bowl game (Wisconsin as well, for that matter) even after the departure of Andrew Luck and a midseason quarterback change from Josh Nunes to Kevin Hogan. You have a Wisconsin team that some say backed into the Rose Bowl, and you have mirror teams with nearly identical philosophies.

Predictions: In case you missed it Tuesday morning, you can see the predictions from Pac-12 bloggers Kevin Gemmell and Ted Miller here. This is what the Big Ten bloggers are thinking.

The Pac-12 is 2-4 with two games -- BCS bowl games -- remaining this bowl season. My oh, my.

Both Ted & Kevin missed on the Sun Bowl with their USC pick. Ted fell to 68-28 this season. Kevin is 67-29. Both are whimpering home with their predictions, not unlike the conference they cover.

Kevin Gemmell: I think Wisconsin is a better team than the record indicates -- and the fact that the coordinators are sticking around despite already having other jobs will be a motivating factor for the Badgers to come out and play hard. That said, Wisconsin has nothing Stanford hasn’t seen already. The Cardinal have seen North-South, All-American running backs already and have gotten the job done. Wisconsin, however, hasn’t seen a defense like Stanford’s. The Cardinal will control the lines and therefore control the game. Stanford 28, Wisconsin 17.

Ted Miller: Is Stanford immune to the Pac-12's bowl malaise? Maybe.The Cardinal has won seven in a row since falling in overtime at No. 1 Notre Dame. The question is whether Wisconsin and Montee Ball can consistently run against one of the nation's top run defense. UCLA, which got bricked by Baylor, ran well against the Cardinal in the Pac-12 title game, so Stanford's run defense is not a sure thing. Still, Stanford is a well-coached team and the Badgers are dealing with a coaching change. Stanford 27, Wisconsin 24.

Kevin Gemmell and Brian Bennett talk about some of the X factors in the Rose Bowl.

LOS ANGELES -- The two teams' records differ; fairly significantly as a matter of fact. At first glance, Stanford’s 11-2 mark seems far more impressive than Wisconsin’s 8-5 ledger. And it is. The Cardinal won the Pac-12 championship and knocked off the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the country in 2012.

But the same DNA that courses through the Cardinal also runs through the Badgers. As Stanford head coach David Shaw put it, Wisconsin was a “shoestring” away from having a significantly better record.

The Badgers lost five games this season, four of them by field goals and one by a touchdown. That’s 19 total points. Six of Stanford’s wins this year have been decided by a touchdown or less and their two losses are by a combined 11 points. In other words, neither team is particularly concerned with whether their respective fan bases have weak tickers. The teams have combined for six overtime games between them this year, with Wisconsin going 0-3 in overtime games and Stanford going 2-1.

So what does this tell us? Either it means Wisconsin is a much better team than their record indicates or it means they aren’t mature enough to win close games. On the flip side, either Stanford isn’t as good as its record indicates or it knows how to win -- cosmetically or otherwise.

“I would say we're a pretty good football team,” said Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez -- who didn’t coach the Badgers during the regular season. “We're a better football team. This is a group of young players that probably have persevered and are more resilient than any group I've ever been around. They've gone through an offensive line coaching change. They've lost three overtime games. They've lost two games where they've had a chance in the last possession to win, yet they came out the next week and played well.

“So, if you just look at our [record] -- how many losses we have, it's very misleading. I'm hoping Stanford's looking at that because we're a much better team, much better football team than a five-loss team.”

Hate to break it to you coach, but Stanford coach David Shaw said he’s not going to be fooled by the five losses. And let’s not forget, Stanford has needed fourth-quarter or overtime rallies six times this season.

There is also an emotional factor Shaw can’t control. Former Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema split for Arkansas and all but two assistants Wisconsin assistants have already taken other jobs. However, Bielema is the only one who won’t be on the sidelines. All of the other coaches have agreed to stay on and coach their players through their third straight Rose Bowl.

“I don't say this lightly [so don’t] take it like I'm trying to butter them up, I do think it's commendable in this day and age that the coordinators have stayed on and they have other jobs,” Shaw said. “I think that's huge where coaches leave at the drop of the hat. And kids are left high and dry. And these kids have earned the right to go to the Rose Bowl. And it's great they have their coaches here to coach them. Sincerely, that's phenomenal in this day and age in our coaching profession.”

In other words, stick around till the clock reads zeros. Because this one probably won’t be over until it’s really over.

Ohio State posted one of the great "What might have been?" seasons in the history of college football this year.

Just imagine what might have happened had the unbeaten Buckeyes, say, anticipated oncoming NCAA sanctions and self-imposed a bowl ban last year, so they would have finished 6-6 instead of 6-7, thereby matching the most losses in school history.

That might have completely transformed the 2012-13 postseason. It certainly would have made for a much better Rose Bowl, however things played out.

Consider:

• It's possible 12-0 Ohio State would be playing Notre Dame for the national title, instead of once-beaten Alabama. That would have ended the SEC's national title streak at six.
• If the Buckeyes were headed to South Florida, the Rose Bowl would have had first pick among the remaining BCS bowl eligible teams. That probably would have given us a scintillating Florida-Stanford, SEC-Pac-12 matchup -- No. 3 vs. No. 6 -- instead of the Cardinal vs. five-loss, unranked Wisconsin.
• Or, if the BCS standings still had Alabama ahead of Ohio State, which would have been highly controversial, Ohio State-Stanford would have been a classic Big Ten-Pac-12 matchup between elite, highly rated teams.

"We're not built like that," he said. "Our guys aren't built like that. We talk a lot about respecting the game. The game deserves our respect. Our opponent deserves our respect. We can't change how we play based on who we play. How we play never changes. We're going to play fast, we're going to play physical, we're going to play our style of football, and we don't take our foot off the gas pedal. Never, ever anyway. We're going to respect these guys. These guys have earned our respect. Watch the film, look at the scoreboard, and watch the film, and these guys will get your respect."

There is good news here, for Ohio State, for the Rose Bowl and for the Pac-12.

While the Big Ten has been on an extended swoon in terms of national perception, and one of its top teams, Penn State, has been wiped off the map by NCAA sanctions, Ohio State is clearly rising under Meyer. The Buckeyes will be national title contenders next fall. Or, failing that, they could become a worthy Rose Bowl foe.

As college football moves forward in 2014 with a four-team playoff, the Pac-12 needs the Big Ten to produce elite teams -- and vice versa -- or the continuing and evolving Rose Bowl partnership will suffer.

This "What Might Have Been Season" for Ohio State, which has broadly affected teams coast-to-coast, is almost certainly an anomaly.

That might not salve the immediate pain for the Buckeyes, or help make this year's Rose Bowl any better, but a hopeful glance toward the horizon is all we have for you.

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota talks about Kansas State, missing out on the national title game, and rumors about coach Chip Kelly leaving for the NFL.