As lopsided as the final score was in Friday’s Rose Bowl, there was a point late in the first quarter of Stanford’s 45-16 victory over Iowa where it appeared the Hawkeyes might actually make a game of it.
Stanford had taken a 14-0 lead, but Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard converted a pair of third-down plays to move into Cardinal territory, the first on a seven-yard pass to Jacob Hillyer as the quarterback got crushed by blitzing Stanford linebacker Kevin Anderson and the second on a 14-yard scramble for a first down.
But on a third-and-three from the Cardinal 36-yard line, Beathard attempted a long out pass toward the right sideline to Matt VandeBerg. Freshman cornerback Quenton Meeks stepped in front of the receiver for an interception and raced 66 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead, and the rout was on.
It was the first pick-six Iowa gave up this season.
“It was a very risky pass,” Meeks said. “We were in a mix of man-to-man and zone coverage. I anticipated the quick out, and once he ran it, I blew threw his hip, and I was actually surprised he threw the ball.
“I looked and the ball was coming, and my eyes got big. I thought to myself, ‘He did not just throw this.’ I caught it, and my next thought was, don’t get caught from behind.”
He didn’t. And neither did the Cardinal, which stretched its lead to 38-0 before Iowa scored on Marshall Koehn’s 39-yard field goal with 3 minutes, 36 seconds left in the third quarter.
Iowa added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, on Beathard’s passes of 36 yards to VandeBerg and 31 yards to Akrum Wadley, but that merely trimmed Stanford’s lead to 22 points (38-16) with 2:46 left.
After opening the season with 12 wins, its first undefeated regular season since 1922, Iowa closed with two losses, to Michigan State (16-13) in the Big Ten championship game and Friday’s Rose Bowl blowout.
“Stanford just outplayed us at every turn,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. “This game hurts. We’ll learn from it. We’ll move on. We’ll improve. But right now, it certainly hurts.”
Ground to a halt
The Hawkeyes entered the game ranked 40th in the nation in rushing offense with an average of 192 yards a game, and several Stanford players said earlier in the week that the Iowa offensive line was the best they’d seen on film this season.
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Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard loses his helmet as he’s sacked by Stanford linebacker Peter Kalambayi in the second quarter.
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Stanford Coach David Shaw hoists the Rose Bowl trophy surrounded by his family after leading the Cardinal to a 45-16 victory over Iowa.
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Stanford Coach David Shaw is doused after the Cardinal scored its sixth touchdown in a 45-16 victory over Iowa.
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Stanford players celebrate after their 45-16 victory over Iowa in the 102nd Rose Bowl game.
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Cardinal offensive tackle A.T. Hall celebrates with fans following a 45-16 vicotry over Iowa in the 102nd Rose Bowl game.
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Cardinal cornerback Ronnie Harris dances with the Stanford band leader and mascot after the Rose Bowl victory.
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Stanford Coach David Shaw, center, and star running back Christian McCaffrey (5) will be featured Friday night in one of the first big games of the season. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Hawkeyes running back Akrum Wadley heads to the end zone on a 31-yard pass play against the Cardinal in the fourth quarter.
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Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard is sacked by a pair of Stanford defenders in the fourth quarter.
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Hawkeyes linebacker Josey Jewel intercepts a deflected pass by Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan in the fourth quarter.
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Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan throws a quick pass to running back Christian McCaffrey in the fourth quarter.
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Iowa wide receiver Matt VandeBerg hauls in a 36-yard touchdown pass against Stanford in the fourth quarter.
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Iowa tight end Henry Krieger Coble is stopped for a short gain by Stanford defenders in the third quarter.
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Stanford linebacker Sam Shober tackles Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard by the helmet, leading to a penalty late in the fourth quarter.
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Cardinal running back Remound Wright is stopped short of a first down by Miles Taylor and his Hawkeyes teammates in the third quarter.
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Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan is tripped by Hawkeyes defensive back Desmond King after a nine-yard run in the third quarter.
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Iowa defensive back Desmond King breaks up a pass intended for Stanford receiver Devon Cajuste during second half.
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Cardinal running back Christian McCaffery gets past Hawkeyes defensive back Greg Mabin on 30-yard run in the third quarter.
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Hawkeyes quarterback C.J. Beathard tries to avoid the Stanford pash rush in the third quarter.
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Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey heads toward the end zone on a 63-yard punt return against the Hawkeyes in the second quarter.
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Stanford cornerback Quenton Meeks bats down a pass by Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard (16), who is leveled on the play in the second quarter.
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Cardinal linebacker Kevin Palma sacks Hawkeyes quarterback C.J. Beathard in the second quarter.
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Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan fakes a fumble as running back Christian McCaffrey pretends to try to recover the ball during a touchdown pass play against Iowa in the second quarter.
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Stanford wide receiver Michael Rector, left, is congratulated by teammates after scoring on a 31-yard pass play, which began with a fake fumble by quarterback Kevin Hogan, against Iowa in the second quarter.
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Stanford receiver Devon Cajuste can’t make a catch as he’s defended by Iowa defensive back Joshua Jackson in the first half.
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Hawkeyes running back LeShun Daniels is stopped at the line of scrimmage by the Cardinal defense in the first quarter.
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Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard is driven out of bounds by Stanford defensive backs Quenton Meeks and Alijah Holder in the first quarter.
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Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey slips past Iowa defenders during a run in the first quarter.
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After about a season and a half of playing inside for the Packers, Clay Matthews will move to his more natural position of edge rusher. That left a hole in the middle, which the Packers filled in the fourth round with Stanford’s Blake Martinez. Martinez is a physical presence who can stop the run and drop back into pass coverage. He’ll have to challenge Sam Barrington and Jake Ryan for a starting job, but he could make an impact early.
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Iowa running back LeShun Daniels has no room to run against Stanford in the second quarter.
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Stanford cornerback Quenton Meeks intercepts a pass intended for Iowa receiver Matt VandeBerg late in the first quarter.
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Stanford cornerback Quenton Meeks outruns Iowa players down the sideline during a 66-yard interception return for a touchdown.
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Cardinal cornerback Quenton Meeks celebrates as he nears the goal line after returning an interception 66 yards for a score against Iowa late in the first quarter.
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Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan scores on an eight-yard run against Iowa in the first quarter to give the Cardinal a 14-0 lead.
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Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey outruns the Iowa defense on the first play from scrimmage for a 75-yard touchdown on a pass play during the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
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Cardinal running back Christian McCaffery beats Iowa defensive back Desmond King to the goal line to finish off a 75-yard touchdown pass play.
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Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey (5) celebrates with teammate Devon Cajuste after scoring against the Hawkeyes on the first play from scrimmage.
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Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey (5) celebrates with teammates after scoring on a 75-yard pass reception on the first play from scrimmage against Iowa.
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Stanford players raise their helmets as a B-2 bomber flies overhead during a pregame ceremony at the Rose Bowl.
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Stanford players head to the field for warmups before playing Iowa in the Rose Bowl game.
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Iowa fans arrive early at their end-zone seats before the Hawkeyes play the Stanford Cardinal in the Rose Bowl game.
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The Stanford mascot prepares for the 102nd Rose Bowl game against Iowa.
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Fans raise their arms on their way through security as they arrive at the Rose Bowl for the game between Stanford and Iowa.
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A young Hawkeye fan checks out a California Highway Patrol officer while entering the Rose Bowl for the game between Iowa and Stanford.
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Hawkeyes fan Jason Jerrel is painted for the occasion as he arrives at the Rose Bowl for the game against the Cardinal.
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A member of the Stanford marching band shows his spirit before the Rose Bowl game against Iowa.
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Iowa fans walk past a California Highway Patrol officer as they enter the Rose Bowl.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) It didn’t look like it Friday. The Cardinal bottled up running backs LeShun Daniels, Wadley and Jordan Canzeri, holding the Hawkeyes to 48 yards rushing in 38 carries, with Beathard having minus-33 yards, thanks to seven sacks.
Stanford senior defensive tackle Aziz Shittu had eight tackles, 1 1/2 sacks and two assisted tackles and was named defensive player of the game. Linebacker Blake Martinez had five tackles and four assisted tackles. Timing its blitzes well, four of Stanford’s seven sacks came on third down.
“It feels awesome to see all of your hard work come to fruition, and walking away with some hardware is never a bad thing,” Shittu said. “But it’s really the whole defense that played great today. I wouldn’t have been able to make the plays I made by myself.”
mike.digiovanna@latimes.com
