Stanford Football: 3 bowl game possibilities for the Cardinal in 2017

After losing to USC in the Pac-12 championship, where might Stanford play next? Here are three possible bowl destinations for the Cardinal.

On Friday night at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Stanford challenged USC all game long as the two teams squared off for the Pac-12 title. Bryce Love gutted out his lingering ankle injuries to rack up 125 yards on the ground, but it wasn’t enough to topple the Trojans. USC prevailed 31-28 in the instant classic to win its first conference championship since 2008.

David Shaw’s squad finished ahead of both Washington schools for the Pac-12 North, but they failed to clear the final hurdle. The narrow loss eliminates Stanford from the New Year’s Six mix, as they head into the postseason with a 9-4 mark in the standings.

While they won’t be playing in one of the top-shelf bowl games, there are several other prime options on the table. Interestingly, there are several bowl games affiliated with the Pac-12 where the Cardinal have yet to appear. That could change in 2017 as they will be a fashionable catch for many of these long-running bowl games.

So where might Stanford end up this postseason? Here are three possible bowl destinations for the Cardinal.