SAN DIEGO (CNS) — The USC and Louisville football teams arrived in San Diego today to begin a series of practices and activities leading up to Wednesday's 44th annual Holiday Bowl.
Both teams are set to tour the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln Sunday and visit SeaWorld Monday. The Cardinals are scheduled to visit the San Diego Zoo Tuesday.
The Trojans will be playing in the Holiday Bowl for the fourth time since the Pac-12 Conference began supplying a team for the game in 1997. USC defeated Nebraska, 45-42, in 2014; lost to Wisconsin, 23-21, in 2015, and lost to Iowa, 49-24, in 2019.
Louisville will be playing in the Holiday Bowl for the first time. It is the second time any Atlantic Coast Conference team has played in the game. Under an agreement announced in 2019, the ACC will supply a team for the game at least through 2025.
North Carolina lost to Oregon, 28-27, in last year's game.
This will be the first meeting between the Cardinals and Trojans. USC (7-5) has lost three consecutive games and five of its last six after a 6-0 start.
Louisville (10-3) has lost its last two games following a four-game winning streak.
The teams have one common opponent -- Notre Dame, which handed the Trojans their first defeat of the season, 48-20, Oct. 14, one week after losing to Louisville, 33-20.
The Cardinals were ranked 16th in the latest Associated Press poll, released Dec. 3. USC dropped out of the Top 25 following its 52-42 loss to Washington Nov. 4.
The Trojans have five players from San Diego -- rush end DJ Peevy (Lincoln High School), long snapper Nathan Weneta (Cathedral Catholic High School), receiver Jaden Moore (The Bishop's School), kicker Tyler Robles (La Costa Canyon High School) and punter Michael McAllister (La Costa Canyon High School.)
Louisville has six players from California, but none from the San Diego area.
The Cardinals will be playing in California for the third time. They tied Long Beach State, 24-24, in the 1970 Pasadena Bowl, and San Jose State, 10-10, in 1990.
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