First-year head coach Fran Brown guided ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ to a 9-3 record and an appearance in the Holiday Bowl, the 29th bowl appearance in program history. (Photo courtesy of ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Athletics)
For the third straight season, the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ football team has qualified for a bowl game, the first time the Orange have secured back-to-back-to-back postseason appearances since a run of five consecutive bowl games from the 1995 to 1999 seasons.
On Sunday afternoon, ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ (9-3, 5-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) learned it will take on the Washington State Cougars (8-4) in the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl in San Diego, California. The game kicks off at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST on Dec. 27 and will be broadcast nationally on FOX.
Fans who are interested in making the trip to California to cheer on the Orange can visit for information on the Holiday Bowl, including how to purchase tickets. Fans are encouraged to buy their Holiday Bowl tickets through ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Athletics to ensure their seats in the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ sections of Snapdragon Stadium.
This year’s squad earned the 29th bowl appearance in program history, with the Orange sporting a 16-11-1 record all-time in bowl games. This will be ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s first time playing in the Holiday Bowl.
First-year head coach Fran Brown has the Orange at 9-3 after the regular season, tied for the most regular season victories by a first-year head coach in program history. ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ will enter the bowl game ranked in the College Football Playoff (No. 21), Associated Press (No. 22) and USA Today Coaches Polls (No. 25).
The Orange closed out the regular season with a thrilling 42-38 win over No. 8 Miami inside the JMA Wireless Dome on Nov. 30, a game where the Orange pulled off the largest comeback in school history (rallying from down 21 points), earned its first top 10 win since 2017 and secured its third win over a ranked opponent for the first time since 1998.
A win in the Holiday Bowl would be ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s 10th this year and would represent the program’s third 10-win season since the 2000 campaign.
The Orange and the Cougars have met once before, in 1979, with ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ defeating Washington State by a score of 52-25. With construction occurring on the JMA Wireless Dome, that game was played at then Rich Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, home of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.
