Oregon fans can stuff their Hawaiian leis back in the closet, because the No. 8 Ducks are headed to San Diego, Calif., for the Dec. 29 Culligan Holiday Bowl.
On Sunday at 12:30 p.m., the Bowl Championship Series bowls made their selections and Oregon State was chosen to play No. 10 Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.
Two hours later, Holiday Bowl president Jim Philion offered the invitation to the Ducks during a teleconference with Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti and athletic director Bill Moos.
The pairing between the Ducks and No. 12 Texas became official with Philion’s opening words: “On behalf of the Holiday Bowl and its board of directors, we’re just delighted to invite the co-champions of the Pac-10 Conference, Oregon, to our 23rd bowl game.”
Moos then responded to Philion’s comments and the deal was complete:
“Thank you and it’s with a great deal of pride and tremendous enthusiasm that we accept this invitation to play in the Holiday Bowl,” Moos said. “We’ve missed out the last couple of years of being in this great bowl and are excited to get down there and soak up some of that beautiful sunshine and enjoy your wonderful city of San Diego.”
The game will be played at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium — formerly known as Jack Murphy Stadium — and will be televised by ESPN at 5:30 p.m.
The announcement served as a sigh of relief for the Oregon football program, which admittedly was less than thrilled with the prospects of playing in one of the two lower tier Hawaii bowls.
“I was fearful of that,” Bellotti said. “It would have been a shame to not get the opportunity to go against the best teams in the nation.”
Sunday’s bowl selections also provided the Pacific-10 Conference with a huge financial boost. As part of league rules, the league splits up any bowl money amongst all 10 teams in the conference. With No. 5 Oregon State’s selection in a BCS bowl, it earns a $13.5 million paycheck, and Oregon’s move up to the Holiday Bowl nets itself a $1.9 million payday.
No. 4 Washington, who will play 14th-ranked Purdue in the New Year’s Day Rose Bowl, will also earn $13.5 million for being a part of a BCS bowl.
“Oregon State deserves to be in the BCS,” Moos said. “I think it speaks well for the conference. We took our hits as a conference and I think we came back and redeemed ourselves very well.”
Another motivating factor for the Ducks in this bowl game will be the opportunity to secure the first 10-win season in Oregon football history. Obviously, it would have made acquiring a 10th win an easier possibility if Oregon would have faced a 6-5 Boston College team in the Aloha Bowl.
But these Ducks know they deserve to prove that they are one of the best by beating the best.
“I thought about how great a season we had, and not to take anything away from the bowl games in Hawaii, but they don’t have the national recognition that the Holiday Bowl has,” Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington said. “Either way, it was a chance to get a 10th win.”
Texas will certainly provide Oregon with a formidable opponent and give the Ducks a chance to avenge its devastating 23-13 Civil War defeat to the Beavers.
“The tradition of Texas football is long and awesome,” Bellotti said. “We are proud to represent the Pac-10 in the Holiday Bowl and get the taste of our last game out of our mouths.
“I expect a great football game.”