Title: 1988 Rose Bowl
Content:  Led by head coach George Perles, a former Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach, Michigan State had its best team in many years. The Spartans beat traditional Big 10 powers Michigan and Ohio State, and won the Big Ten by 1½ games over Indiana and Iowa, who tied for second place. They followed up the USC win by a 31–8 loss at Notre Dame, and then a 31–3 home loss to Florida State. The season got back on track with a 19–14 win at Iowa. A dramatic 17–11 win over in state rival Michigan occurred on October 10. On October 31, the Spartans defeated Ohio State, making this the first season since the 1966 National Championship when the Spartans defeated both Michigan and Ohio State. The Indiana Hoosiers also had beaten Michigan and Ohio State, and the meeting between Michigan State and Indiana on November 14 determined the Big Ten championship. Michigan State won 27–3 to clinch their first Rose Bowl appearance since the 1965 season. They are the only team in college history to not only beat Big 10 powers Ohio State and Michigan in the same season, but also the USC Trojans twice.
Title: 1956 Rose Bowl
Content:  The Ohio State Buckeyes were the undefeated Big Ten conference champions. However, Ohio State would not be invited to the Rose Bowl because of the no-repeat rule in the Big Ten conference. This left Michigan State to be accepted. Ohio State was ranked fourth with a 7–2 record, and Michigan State was second with a 9–1 record. The teams did not play each other during the regular season. Michigan State opened with a 20–13 win at Indiana, but fell to in-state rival Michigan 14–7, their only setback of the season. They won 38–14 over then-#20 Stanford, and defeated then-#4 Notre Dame 21–7. The Spartans did not play Northwestern, Iowa, or Ohio State. The Buckeyes' two losses were out of conference, to Duke (20–14) and Stanford (6–0).
Title: 1988 Rose Bowl
Content:  The 1988 Rose Bowl was the 74th edition of the college football bowl game, played on January 1, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the USC Trojans 20–17 in a bowl rematch that was much closer than the 27–13 Spartan victory in the regular season. Michigan State linebacker Percy Snow was named the Player of the Game. This was the last Rose Bowl game televised by NBC Sports, ending a 37-year partnership. ABC Sports picked up rights to broadcast the game the following year. This was the Big Ten's first Rose Bowl win in seven years.
Title: 1998 Rose Bowl
Content:  stormed into Spartan Stadium on October 25 and subdued the Michigan State Spartans 23-7. On November 22, it was #1 (Michigan) vs. #4 (Ohio State) for the right to represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. Thanks to an interception returned for a touchdown and a Charles Woodson 77-yard punt return for a touchdown, Michigan defeated Ohio State 20-14 to finish 11-0, 8-0. The Wolverines entered the Rose Bowl ranked #1 in the AP and coaches' poll. With the 21-16 Rose Bowl win over Washington State, the Wolverines would claim the Associated Press (AP) national championship, as well as the Grantland Rice Award (Football Writers Association of America) and MacArthur Bowl (National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame trophy).
Title: 1987 Rose Bowl
Content:  9–0 and ascend to #2 in the rankings. Michigan's next opponent, Minnesota, had not beaten the Wolverines since 1977 and came into Ann Arbor as a 25-point underdog. A Michigan touchdown tied the game at 17–17 with just two minutes to go, but Golden Gopher quarterback Rickey Foggie scrambled to put Chip Lohmiller in position to kick the winning field goal. Minnesota prevailed, 20–17, for their first win at Michigan since 1962. The loss dropped the Wolverines to sixth as they prepared to face their archrival, seventh-ranked Ohio State, for a trip to the Rose Bowl. Jim Harbaugh guaranteed a Michigan victory. "We don't care where we play the game," said the senior quarterback early 
Title: 2006 Michigan Wolverines football team
Content:  Michigan lost to the USC Trojans in the Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2007. The game was tied 3–3 at the half but the high powered USC offense came out in the second half, giving USC the 32–18 victory.
Title: 1998 Rose Bowl
Content:  Michigan earned the right to play in the 84th Rose Bowl game by going through the entire regular season undefeated. With a dominating defense led by Heisman Trophy-winning cornerback Charles Woodson and All-American defensive end Glen Steele and a resourceful offense led by quarterback Brian Griese, the Wolverines went 11-0, yielding only 144 points. Lloyd Carr was in his third season as the head coach. They defeated preseason top 5 Colorado, 27-3 in the season opener on September 13. Michigan defeated Notre Dame, 21-14 on September 27. Two-time Big Ten champion Northwestern was a 23-6 victim on October 11. The Iowa game on October 18 was the closest call as the Wolverines trailed 21-7 at halftime before rallying to win 28-24. 
Title: 1964 Michigan Wolverines football team
Content:  As the Big Ten Conference champion, Michigan played in the 1965 Rose Bowl, defeating the Oregon State Beavers, 34–7. The game marked Michigan's fourth appearance in the Rose Bowl. In its three prior appearances (1902, 1948, and 1951), Michigan was 3–0 and had outscored opponents 112–6. Michigan was selected as an 11-point favorite over Oregon State. After a scoreless first quarter Oregon State took a 7–0 lead with a five-yard touchdown pass from Paul Brothers to Doug McDougal. Later in the second quarter, Michigan scored its first touchdown of the game on an 84-yard run by Mel Anthony. Anthony's run 
Title: 1964 Big Ten Conference football season
Content:  On January 1, 1965, Michigan (ranked No. 4 in the final AP Poll) played in the 1965 Rose Bowl, defeating the Oregon State Beavers (ranked No. 8), 34–7. The game marked Michigan's fourth appearance in the Rose Bowl. In its three prior appearances (1902, 1948, and 1951), Michigan was 3–0 and had outscored opponents 112–6. Michigan was selected as an 11-point favorite over Oregon State. After a scoreless first quarter, Oregon State took a 7–0 lead with a five-yard touchdown pass from Paul Brothers to Doug McDougal. Later in the second quarter, Michigan scored its first touchdown of the game on an 84-yard run by Mel Anthony. Anthony's run broke the Rose Bowl record for the longest run from scrimmage. Dick Sygar missed the extra point, and Oregon State led 7–6. On Michigan's next drive, Carl Ward ran 43 yards for a touchdown. Michigan missed an 
Title: 1989 Rose Bowl
Content:  Michigan opened the season with consecutive narrow losses to Notre Dame and Miami (FL) who were ranked #13 and #1 respectively at the time. But they recovered to go unbeaten the rest of the way, their only blemish being a 17–17 tie at Iowa. A 17–3 win over defending Big 10 champ Michigan State proved to be the difference as Michigan won the Big 10 by one game over Michigan State.

Question: who did michigan state play in the rose bowl?
Answer: Stanford Cardinal.