Stanford will face Iowa in the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual on Jan. 1. Several moments stood out as key on the Cardinal's path to Pasadena in their 11-2 season. Here’s our choice of the best (in chronological order):
The loss to Northwestern: This, along with the Oregon game (listed below), was Stanford's worst memory of 2015. But it was also a defining one. The Cardinal mustered only 3.9 yards per play -- the worst mark of the Jim Harbaugh-David Shaw era -- on their way to a 16-6 defeat. This setback became a rallying cry during the ensuing eight-game winning streak: Whenever Stanford encountered sloppiness, players would yell "remember Northwestern!" on the sideline to galvanize focus.
Kevin Hogan to Devon Cajuste, Part 1: The two hooked up later in the season against Notre Dame, and that connection will be remembered for a long time, but this one set the tone of Stanford's dominant early season run. The Cardinal trailed USC 21-10 late in the second quarter in their regular-season matchup, but embarked on two long drives before halftime to reverse course of this critical game. The second ended on Hogan's 17-yard scoring toss to Cajuste with just three seconds remaining before halftime, and it gave Stanford the lead.
CB Alijah Holder intercepts QB Josh Rosen's pass and returns it 31 yards for a touchdown that puts Stanford up 7-0 on UCLA.
The Alijah Holder pick-six: Stanford steamrolled UCLA 56-35 in a game that featured Francis Owusu's behind-the-opponent's-back catch insanity, but the first score of this one set the tone. Holder, a freshman cornerback, intercepted Josh Rosen less than four minutes in. He returned it 31 yards for a score, cutting across the width of the field to evade tacklers. After the game, Holder said he pictured the interception return during a pregame visualization routine.
The game-changing Hogan touchdown runs: Stanford trailed Washington State 22-13 late in the third quarter, and their offense -- especially the passing game -- was highly ineffective. So the Cougars geared up their defense against Christian McCaffrey. That made Hogan the X-factor, and he responded with touchdown runs of 59 and 6 yards to bring the Cardinal back into the lead. Hogan, whose ankle still wasn't back at 100 percent health, finished with 112 rushing yards.
Washington State's missed field goal: Despite Hogan's heroics, Washington State still had a chance to beat Stanford at the final gun. But Erik Powell missed from 47 yards and the Cardinal held on for a 30-28 win.
The fumbled snaps: Two weeks later, Stanford found itself on the losing side of a two-point loss. The Cardinal outgained Oregon and executed their ball-control game plan well throughout the game -- until the fourth quarter. That's when two consecutive drives ended with fumbled snaps. These mistakes were likely the difference between the College Football Playoff and the Rose Bowl for Stanford.
Stanford's Christian McCaffrey catches the screen pass, bounces off a tackler, breaks another tackle and then outraces everyone else to go 49 yards for the Cardinal touchdown.
Christian McCaffrey's sensational Big Game catch-and-run: Yes, Stanford likely would have beaten California even without McCaffrey's dazzling 49-yard score, when he evaded approximately six defenders. But it was a defining moment of their run to the Rose Bowl nonetheless, a play emblematic of McCaffrey's record-breaking contributions in 2015.
Hogan to Cajuste, Part 2: Along similar lines, Stanford didn't need this dramatic sequence to reach the Rose Bowl -- they technically didn't even need to beat Notre Dame -- but the importance of this moment to the lore of the 2015 Cardinal is undeniable. Stanford trailed the Irish 36-35 with less than 20 seconds remaining. That's when Hogan delivered a storybook Senior Day finale, throwing a perfect strike to Cajuste to set up Conrad Ukropina's game-winning 45-yard field goal.
Hogan to McCaffrey on third down: In a Pac-12 championship game rematch, USC scored 16 unanswered points to take a third-quarter lead over Stanford. The Cardinal then faced a critical third down. Hogan found McCaffrey on a short pass over the middle, and he proceeded to spin Trojan defenders silly on his way to a big gain that set up Hogan's go-ahead touchdown run.
Blake Martinez's sack, Solomon Thomas' touchdown: About three minutes after that Hogan score, USC was driving again. But Stanford's defense, running on fumes by this point, delivered the play that put the Cardinal in the driver's seat on the bus to Pasadena. Martinez sacked Cody Kessler, jarring the ball loose. Thomas scooped it up, sprinted like a gazelle and scored. Stanford was well on its way to a 41-22 victory that would punch its ticket to the Granddaddy of Them All.