USC knows where it will be playing its bowl game -- now it's just a question of who will be playing for the Trojans.
The Holiday Bowl, set for Dec. 27 (5 p.m. PT) at Petco Park in San Diego, announced on Sunday a pairing of USC and Louisville.
Louisville is ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll, No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 15 in the CFP Poll after falling to Florida State in the ACC Championship game Saturday.
Among the bowl games with fixed Pac-12 ties, the Holiday Bowl had the third priority to choose among Pac-12 teams behind the Alamo Bowl and the Las Vegas Bowl.
With Washington headed to the College Football Playoff and Oregon landing in a New Year's 6 bowl game -- the Fiesta Bowl vs. unbeaten Liberty -- that left Arizona next in the conference standings while Oregon State, Utah and USC were tied for fourth.
The Wildcats are playing Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl, Oregon State is playing in the Sun Bowl against an opponent not yet announced and Utah is headed to the Las Vegas Bowl vs. Northwestern.
The Trojans (7-5) have previously played in the Holiday Bowl in 2014 (winning 45-42 over Nebraska), 2015 (losing 23-21 to Wisconsin) and 2019 (losing 49-24 to Iowa). Those games were played in now defunct Qualcomm Stadium while the bowl game has since moved to San Diego's Major League Baseball stadium, Petco Park.
Louisville Cardinals is 10-3 overall and 7-1 in ACC play, most recently falling 16-6 to Florida State on in the ACC Championship game. Louisville's 7-1 record matched their all-time best ACC record.
The Cardinals are led by QB Jack Plummer, who is 235-of-370 for 3,063 yards with 21 TDs and 12 INTs. RB Jordan Jawhar has 1,128 rushing yards on 181 carries for 13 TDs. Jamari Thrash has tallied 63 receptions for 858 yards and 6 TDs. In addition to Thrash, 9 other Cardinals have scored TDs through the air this season.
On the defensive side of the ball, LB TJ Quinn leads the team with 87 tackles. DL Ashton Gillotte is the team's leading sack-man with 11 sacks for minus 71 yards. Seven Cardinals have collected INTs this season: DB Devin Neal (4), DB Cam'Ron Kelly (2), DB Quincy Riley (2), LB TJ Quinn (1), DB Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (1), DL Ramon Puryear (1) and DB-LB Gilbert Frierson (1). The Cardinals have the No. 16 ranked defense in the nation and the No. 13 ranked rushing defense.
Most USC fans are already looking ahead to 2024 and hoping the hiring Friday of defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn can make a dramatic impact on the Trojans' readiness for their first Big Ten season.
It's also possible some players will be looking ahead to the future as well and choose to opt out of the bowl game. Star quarterback Caleb Williams has maintained in all public comments to this point that he hadn't made a decision yet in that regard.
Last year, star Trojans receiver Jordan Addison (a first-round draft pick) opted out of the game to start his preparations for the NFL draft.
If Williams doesn't play, it would be a prime showcase for third-year quarterback Miller Moss, who is looking to compete for the starting job next season. Moss completed 23 of 32 passes for 309 yards, 1 TD and 0 INTs, plus 2 rushing TDs, in late-game action across the Trojans' first three contests of the season.
