LAS VEGAS, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- USC and Utah will be spending Christmas in Las Vegas while Syracuse will enjoy the holidays in Phoenix.
The Trojans and Utes on Tuesday accepted invitations to play in the Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium on December 25.
Syracuse accepted a berth in the Insight.com bowl on December 29 at Bank One Ballpark. Its opponent is expected to be Kansas State, although no formal announcement was made.
Before Christmas, Colorado State will compete in the inaugural New Orleans Bowl against North Texas at the Superdome on December 18.
After beginning the season 1-4, USC won five of its last six games under first-year coach Pete Carroll. The Trojans closed the season with four straight wins over Pac-10 Conference foes, including a 27-0 win over UCLA.
Utah (7-3), a member of the the Mountain West Conference, finishes its regular season Saturday at Air Force.
The Las Vegas Bowl has hosted a Pac-10 representative on one other occasion. In 1997, Oregon posted a 41-13 win over Air Force, then a member of the Western Athletic Conference. Utah played in the Las Vegas Bowl in 1999, defeating Fresno State, 17-16.
Syracuse (9-3) settled for the Insight.com Bowl after being bypassed for the Gator Bowl in favor of Virginia Tech. The Gator Bowl has the second selection in the Big East and chose the Hokies over Syracuse even though the Orangemen already have clinched second place in the league.
While Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni said Tuesday he expected the opponent to be Kansas State, Insight.com officials said the selection of the Wildcats was not finalized. The official word could come later this week or after the Big 12 championship game.
Colorado State (6-5), a member of the Mountain West Conference, accepted a bid on Tuesday and will play in its third straight bowl game and sixth in the past eight years.
