Stanford's Stephens will miss Rose Bowl STANFORD

In this Nov. 10, 2012 photo, Stanford defensive lineman Terrence Stephens (99) is shown after Stanford beat Oregon State 27-23 in an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif. Stephens has been declared ineligible for the Rose Bowl against Wisconsin because of a secondary violation of NCAA rules related to his rental of off-campus housing.(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) less In this Nov. 10, 2012 photo, Stanford defensive lineman Terrence Stephens (99) is shown after Stanford beat Oregon State 27-23 in an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif. Stephens has been declared ... more Photo: Jeff Chiu, Associated Press Photo: Jeff Chiu, Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Stanford's Stephens will miss Rose Bowl 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

From the time he committed to Stanford, Terrence Stephens' goal was to play in the Rose Bowl. When the Cardinal face Wisconsin on New Year's Day, however, Stephens won't be part of it.

The 6-foot-2, 305-pound senior defensive tackle was been declared ineligible for the game because of a secondary violation of NCAA rules regarding his rental of off-campus housing, the school announced Friday.

Stephens has played in 42 games in his college career but missed victories in the regular-season finale and the Pac-12 championship against UCLA for what coach David Shaw had called a "personal problem."

After a rainy practice Friday, Shaw wouldn't elaborate on the violation but said, "We tried to make sure we did the best service we could for Terrence, making sure we found out all the information we could."

He said Stephens will get his degree and will try to earn a spot in the NFL. "This is a minor bump in the road" for him, Shaw said.

Stephens was "very disappointed" that he won't be able to play for the third straight game, Shaw said. "He's one of the fourth-year guys who came here with the goal to play in this game. He's done a lot of work to help us get there."

He became a starter as a junior and helped anchor Stanford's excellent rushing defense. This season he had 10 tackles, one sack and a forced fumble, and the Cardinal have the nation's third-best rushing defense, allowing only 87.7 yards per game.

One of the highlights of his career came in the 2011 upset of USC when he forced a fumble by Curtis McNeal that was recovered by A.J. Tarpley in the end zone to preserve the Cardinal's 56-48 triple overtime victory.

Stephens was not available for comment. He wrote on Twitter, "I love my team and the work we've all put in to get to this point. My situation is irrelevant. Go to the Rose Bowl and cheer on a great team." In another tweet, he promised, "The party in the backfield doesn't end."

The Cardinal defense leads the nation in tackles for loss with 120 and sacks with 56.

Redshirt junior David Parry will start again in his place when the Cardinal (11-2) face the Big Ten champion Badgers (8-5) in Pasadena on Jan. 1. Parry had five tackles, a sack and a pass breakup in the 35-17 win at UCLA in the season finale.

Parry, Josh Mauro and Henry Anderson have played well in Stephens' place, Shaw said, but because of his experience and leadership, "there has been a hole there on game day."

Stanford is trying to get him into a one of the senior all-star games, and he'll take part in the school's pro day.

"The minor NCAA issues never affect the NFL," Shaw said. "They're concerned with violent crime, with alcohol and drugs, and character issues. This is none of those. ... This is not going to affect his NFL chances whatsoever."