There's no such thing as a bad trip to the Rose Bowl, but Iowa's first visit since 1991 was humbling for the Hawkeyes and the entire Big Ten West.
Before the 29-point loss to Stanford on Jan. 1, the Hawkeyes had taken advantage of a favorable schedule, surviving some absolute nail-biters and finished their first 12-0 regular season in school history.
They basically came one play — one big stop on Michigan State's 22-play, 82-yard Big Ten championship winning drive — from reaching the College Football Playoff.
All season, the Hawkeyes had been lucky and good. But by the time Cardinal star Christian McCaffery finished with them in Pasadena, critics wondered if they'd just been lucky and well-positioned, in a watered-down division.
"After the Rose Bowl, we didn't dwell on it," Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard said. "You can't take away from the season we had."
Now, Iowa has a chance to roll through another special season — and add a sweeter finish. The Hawkeyes are consensus favorites to win the West again, though Nebraska, Wisconsin, Northwestern and the Gophers should have something to say about that.
Iowa lost 21 seniors from last year but has 13 starters back, including Beathard, who limped his way to second-team All-Big Ten honors last year.
Injured before halftime in Week 3 against Pittsburgh, he played through pain in his hamstring, hip and groin before undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia after the Rose Bowl.