USC Will Face Fresno State In Las Vegas Bowl

With all the adversity USC faced this year the Trojans finished the year 9-4 and tied for second place in the Pac-12 South Division. The Trojans now have their eyes set on their bowl game. USC has accepted an invitation to play in the 22nd Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl on December 21.

The Trojans will face off against the No. 21 ranked Fresno State in Las Vegas. Fresno State head coach Tim DeRuyter and the rest of the Bulldogs finished their season 11-1 and won the inaugural Mountain West championship game.

As for USC, with former interim head coach Ed Orgeron resigning from the program newly appointed interim head coach Clay Helton will lead the Trojans on to the field.

"We are extremely excited to have been invited to participate in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl," said Helton. "It is a tremendous honor and a great reward to our team and what they have been able to accomplish in the 2013 season. We look forward to our trip to Las Vegas and the challenge of competing against one of the better teams in the country in Fresno State." 

The last time USC played in the Las Vegas Bowl was in 2001 when they fell Utah 10-6. This is the Trojans second time playing in Las Vegas, but they are confident about bringing home a win.

The Trojans are among the nation's winningest teams come post-season. USC has an overall post-season record of 31-16 and have lost just twice in its past nine bowl games. The Trojans have appeared in 13 different bowl games, which includes 33 berths to the Rose Bowl.

USC and Fresno State will be meeting for only the third time. In their first meeting the Bulldogs defeated the Trojans 24-7 in the 1992 Freedom Bowl. However, in their second meeting in 2005 the Trojans defeated the Bulldogs 50-42 in a win that was later vacated due to NCAA sanctions. 

The bowl game will be aired on ABC and will kick-off at 12:30 PT in Sam Boyd Stadium.