[5] The Rose Bowl Game, themed Dreams Come True, was a contractual sell-out, with 64,500 tickets allocated to the participating teams and conferences.

The bands and cheerleaders from both schools participated in the pre-game Rose Parade on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California along with the floats.

Cornerback Darqueze Dennard was named a consensus first-team All-American and earned the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation's top defensive back.

Stanford received the opening kickoff and on the second play from scrimmage, Kevin Hogan went deep and found Michael Rector for 43 yards, putting them immediately in Michigan State territory.

Stanford would be able to add 3 points to its score near the end of the 1st quarter after a 47-yard run by Tyler Gaffney put them in field goal position.

The Spartans moved the ball with efficiency and controlled the pace as a Tony Lippett reception of 24 yards put MSU in Stanford territory.

The Michigan State offense appeared to have stalled at the Stanford 9 yard line, however, a pass interference penalty called on 3rd and goal against the Cardinal gave the Spartans a new set of downs.

With under 3 minutes left in the first half, Michigan State had good field position at their own 41 yard line after Stanford was forced to punt from their own endzone.

On the second play of the possession, Connor Cook, while being hit, threw an ill-advised pass up for grabs and Stanford linebacker Kevin Anderson intercepted it, returning it 40 yards on a pick-six, expanding the Cardinal lead to 17–7.

One play later, Connor Cook saw man coverage and completed a 37-yard strike to 5th year senior Bennie Fowler, who made a challenging catch to put Michigan State at the Stanford 3 yard line.

On the ensuing Michigan State possession, the Cardinal defense stood tall, forcing a punt and giving their offense a second chance.

Backed up at their own 7 yard line, the Stanford offense did not start off their drive as planned, as a botched handoff between Kevin Hogan and Tyler Gaffney almost resulted in what would have been a disastrous turnover.

On 4th and 3, Stanford turned the ball over on downs after Tyler Gaffney was tackled in the backfield for a 3-yard loss by senior Spartan linebacker Denicos Allen.

However, while fighting for extra yardage on the next play, Langford was stripped of the football by Cardinal linebacker Shayne Skov, and Stanford recovered the ball at their own 8 yard line.

Taking the shotgun snap, Connor Cook hit Tony Lippett over the middle for a 25-yard touchdown pass, giving Michigan State their first lead, 24–17.

On the first play of the possession, Michael Rector received the ball on an end-around and gained 27 yards, putting the Cardinal in Spartan territory at the MSU 45.

A holding penalty called against All-American and Thorpe Award recipient Darqueze Dennard gave Stanford 10 free yards and put them in field goal position.

However, an ineligible receiver downfield penalty was called against Stanford and they had to attempt another field goal instead, this time from 39 yards away, which was good.

Kevin Hogan took the snap and handed it to the up-back Ryan Hewitt who was stopped for no gain as Spartan linebackers Kyler Elsworth and Darien Harris jumped over the middle of a mass pile of lineman to make the tackle.