Badgers to Play in Holiday Bowl Against USC

The Wisconsin football team will make its first appearance in the Holiday Bowl after accepting an invitation Sunday afternoon to face USC on December 30 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. 

The Badgers, whose streak of 14 consecutive bowl trips is the best in the Big Ten, went 9-3 in the regular season, including a 6-2 mark that was good for third in the Big Ten West Division. USC is in a bowl for the fourth-straight year and making its 51st bowl appearance overall. The Trojans are 8-5 after falling to Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Saturday.

This will be the seventh meeting between Wisconsin and USC, the first since 1966. USC has won the previous six meetings, including two in the Rose Bowl. The 1953 Rose Bowl marked UW’s first-ever bowl appearance. The 1962 Rose Bowl, where the top-ranked Trojans defeated the second-ranked Badgers, 42-37, is widely recognized as one of the most exciting Rose Bowls in history. UW scored 23 fourth-quarter points to nearly rally from a 42-14 deficit as Ron Vander Kelen passed for a then-Rose Bowl record 401 yards. The 79 total points scored was a Rose Bowl record that stood for 28 years.

UW has never played in the Holiday Bowl but has made nine bowl appearances in California, all coming in the Rose Bowl. This is the second of a six-year partnership between Big Ten and the Holiday Bowl. Nebraska lost to USC, 45-42, in last year’s game. Big Ten teams made 10 appearances in the Holiday Bowl between 1979 and 1994, going 8-2.

With an average high temperature of 65 degrees in late December and attractions such as Sea World, the world famous San Diego Zoo and Coronado Island, San Diego is an exciting new destination for Badgers fans.

Fans can join the Badgers in San Diego for this outstanding game. Tickets and several travel packages are currently available. Complete details can be found at UWBowlCentral.com.

The game will be played at 9:30 central time and televised on ESPN.