The Rose Bowl 2016 game takes place on Friday with a huge match up between the Stanford Cardinal and Iowa Hawkeyes. This New Year's 2016 Rose Bowl will take place from Pasadena, California and has a scheduled start time of 5 p.m. ET. The game can be watched on TV on the ESPN network or online through live stream via the link below.

Both of these two teams have a reputation for keeping the ball tight and close to the chest, so not many are expecting either to expand and try to stretch the field much in this one.

So this year's Rose Bowl should be one that remains true to old school football, although both teams are certainly talented enough to go vertically when needed. Indeed, some pundits are suggesting that the team that expands its plays successfully at the right times is likely to be the one that comes out on top today.

The Hawkeyes come into today's game with a 12-1 record, and for much of it they played extremely conservative football. Stanford meanwhile come into the game with a season record of 11-2.

New quarterback C.J. Beathard has joined Iowa and has helped them become more explosive than many of their early season showings, and in recent games their most important plays have arguably been big ones. They scored a touchdown run of 68 yards from Jordan Canzeri against Nebraska, and an 85-yard touchdown pass from Beathard to Tevaun Smith against Michigan State.

Meanwhile, Christian McCaffrey is being touted by some as potentially the difference between the two teams. The Hawkeyes have not played against a player like McCaffrey all season, and if they are unable to keep him under wraps then he could help Stanford claim a famous win today.

So today's Rose Bowl is sure to be played like a game of chess for much of match up, with each team keeping the ball close and trying to power their way down the field. However, the difference may come from which team manages to execute the big plays better.

Today's Rose Bowl 2016 game between Stanford Cardinal and Iowa Hawkeyes has a scheduled start time of 5 p.m. ET and can be watched on TV on the ESPN network or online through live stream by clicking here.