The Las Vegas Bowl, now sponsored by Royal Purple lubricants (MECHANICAL lubricants), has a history of fun, high-scoring affairs. Located just a few miles away from The Strip, there’s no shortage of shenanigans for fans to get into before watching the game.
2013 Las Vegas Bowl, Fresno State vs. USC: TV time, team profiles and more
A team that nearly busted the BCS meets one of the most up-and-down teams in recent memory.
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Historically, the Las Vegas Bowl has featured all west coast teams, with the Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences currently getting bids. The game has also hosted Big West and WAC teams in the past, though not regularly since the 1990s.
Fun fact: the game originated from the California Raisin Bowl, which left Fresno for the bright lights of Las Vegas in 1992.
Date and time, ET: Saturday, December 21, 2013, at 3:30 p.m.
TV channel: ABC
Location: Las Vegas
Stadium: Sam Boyd Stadium (40,000 capacity)
Tickets: Find available seats here.
Last year’s score: Boise State 28, Washington 26
Last year’s attendance: 33,217
Last year’s TV rating: 3.3 on ESPN
Last year’s payout for each school: $1 million
Team with the most all-time appearances: BYU, 5
Team with the most all-time wins: BYU and Boise State, 3
Fresno State (11-1, 7-1 MWC)
The Bulldogs nearly broke into a BCS bowl, but fell to San Jose State in a Black Friday offensive onslaught that threatened the NCAA record books. Tim DeRuyter’s squad still offers one of the country’s most ferocious offenses, with quarterback Derek Carr and a dangerous receiving corps capable of putting up points on just about anybody.
Last bowl game: 2012 Hawaii Bowl vs. Southern Methodist, 43-10 loss
Last year without a bowl: 2011
All-time bowl record: 12-12
Head coach’s bowl record: Tim DeRuyter, 1-1
USC (9-4, 6-3 Pac-12)
Southern Cal survived a lot of coaching turmoil in 2013, winning nine games despite the distractions. Lane Kiffin got the boot in September after the team was crushed by Arizona State, and interim head coach Ed Orgeron didn’t get the full-time gig despite a successful run as the interim coach the rest of the way.
It remains to be seen how enthused the Trojans will be about playing after the news that Orgeron wouldn’t be staying on board, but there’s also no question that they’ve been playing closer to their potential since Kiffin was fired. If the Trojans are focused, they figure to be a tough group to beat.
Last bowl game: 2012 Sun Bowl vs. Georgia Tech, 21-7 loss
Last year without a bowl: 2011
All-time bowl record: 32-17
Head coach’s bowl record: Ed Orgeron, 0-0
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