PASADENA, Calif. -- Red, green and silver confetti covered the middle of the Rose Bowl field like a fresh coat of snow. Newly issued gray T-shirts that read "Tree Mendous" strained to cover the shoulder pads of several Stanford players.

Stanford head coach David Shaw was congratulated by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who's currently a member of the Cardinal faculty. Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Cardinal coach David Shaw, encircled by security personnel, slowly made his way toward a stadium tunnel when he was stopped by a slightly gap-toothed woman in a red down jacket. They exchanged hugs.

"Great job," said Condoleezza Rice, the former U.S. secretary of state who now serves on the Stanford faculty.

Moments later, the Stanford band, which prides itself on being cool, on being above it all, began chanting "Da-vid Shaw! Da-vid Shaw!"

This is what happens when a program that hasn't won a Rose Bowl in more than four decades, well, wins a Rose Bowl. Dignitaries appear. Players dance in confetti. Legacies begin to take form.

Stanford beat Wisconsin 20-14 on a shrimp cocktail-chilly Tuesday in the shadow of the San Gabriel Mountains. You could sort of see your breath and you definitely could see the Cardinal do what they usually do in wins: impose their will, play as physically as an older brother roughing up his younger brother, refuse to be intimidated by the moment.

"Let's just say to be in the same place as Jim Plunkett is pretty cool," Stanford guard Kevin Danser said. "It's definitely an accomplishment. It's something I'll always tell my kids, brag about with my kids, brag about to my friends. This is an experience that you can't replace."

The great Plunkett did lead the Cardinal to a Rose Bowl win in January 1971, but it was quarterback Don Bunce (bar bet alert) and the so-called "Thunderchickens" defense that won the January 1972 granddaddy of them all, Stanford's last Rose Bowl win.

And then a long, cold Rose Bowl winter.

Between 1972 and Tuesday, the Cardinal played in only one other Rose Bowl -- and lost. To Wisconsin and Barry Alvarez in 2000.

Alvarez came out of coaching retirement for this latest Tree versus Bucky matchup. Could you blame him? It's the Rose Bowl. And sorry, Oregon, it's the best team in the Pac-12 and one of the best in the country.