Paul Chryst
As expected, the Wisconsin Badgers have accepted an invitation to play in the December 30th Holiday Bowl in San Diego. It comes after a week of speculation that the Badgers were headed for the Holiday Bowl but would face Utah.
Kickoff is set for 9:30 p.m. CT and the game will be televised by ESPN.
The Trojans, who suffered a 41-22 loss to No. 7 Stanford on Saturday night in the PAC-12 title game, will enter the game unranked. The Badgers meanwhile, moved up two spots on Sunday to number-23 in the AP and coaches Top-25 polls.
USC opened the season ranked 8th in the AP poll and 10th in the coaches poll. They dropped out of the top 25 after falling to Washington on Oct. 8.
It was just a few days later that head coach Steve Sarkisian was fired. Assistant Clay Helton was named interim head coach and eventually handed the head coaching reigns after leading the Trojans to a 5-2 mark in the last seven games.
The two schools have met six times previously, including twice in the Rose Bowl. USC has won all six meetings.
AUDIO: Paul Chryst says playing a traditional power like USC is exciting :17
AUDIO: Chryst says it’s OK that it isn’t a New Years Day bowl game :13