Utah (7-4) vs. USC (6-5)                             
Las Vegas Bowl                                       3:30 pm EST
----------------------------------------------------------------
LAS VEGAS (Ticker) -- Southern California's reward for a strong
finish is a Christmas Day matchup against Utah in the Las Vegas
Bowl. 

The Trojans (6-5) appeared to be going nowhere in their first
season under former New York Jets coach Pete Carroll, but they
regrouped after a 1-4 start to win their final four games. 

USC completed its turnaround with a 27-0 victory over UCLA on
November 17. The Trojans may be better than their record
indicates as their five losses came by a combined 25 points. 

Among the most storied programs in college football, USC needed
to beat UCLA to avoid consecutive losing seasons for the first
time since 1960-1961. 

The Trojans are making their first postseason appearance since
losing to Texas Christian, 28-19, in the 1998 Sun Bowl. 

Carson Palmer endured an up-and-down season for USC, throwing
just 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, but he tossed three TDs
in the win over the Bruins. 

One of the top stories in 2001 for the Trojans was the return of
cornerback Antuan Simmons, who missed the entire 2000 season
with a life-threatening injury. He returned an interception 36
yards for a touchdown against UCLA. 

Utah (7-4), which nearly upset Brigham Young on November 17,
finished tied for third with New Mexico in the Mountain West
Conference after ending the regular season with a pair of
heartbreaking losses. 

The Utes were in position to beat BYU, but the Cougars rallied
for a pair of touchdowns in the final 5 1/2 minutes to post a
24-21 victory. 

Two weeks later, Utah also squandered a late lead and suffered a
38-37 setback to Air Force. 

The Utes boast the top rushing tandem in the Mountain West in
Dameon Hunter and Adam Tate. Hunter rushed for 1,396 yards and
nine touchdowns -- second in the conference behind BYU's Luke
Staley -- while Tate ran for 819 yards and 12 TDs. 

Utah's last bowl appearance also was in the Las Vegas Bowl in
1999, when it beat Fresno State, 17-16. 

USC has won six of eight all-time meetings with Utah, including
a 28-21 victory in the 1983 Hall of Fame Bowl. 

st 12-25-01 06:07 et