The Holiday Bowl will be played on a Saturday for the first time in 24 years and only the second time ever, the organizers announced Tuesday.
Also, San Diego’s other college football postseason game, the Poinsettia Bowl, will be played just four days earlier instead of the usual week between the contests.
The Holiday Bowl, which will match schools from the Pacific-10 and Big Ten conferences, will kick off Dec. 27 at 5 p.m. The only other time the contest was played on a Saturday was 1990, when Texas A&M routed BYU, 65-14.
The Poinsettia Bowl, which will match a Mountain West school against Navy — if the Midshipmen are bowl-eligible — will be played Dec. 23 at 6:30 p.m.
“This is shaping up to be an exciting bowl game season for us here in San Diego,” said Vincent Mudd, president of the 2014 San Diego Bowl Game Association.
“The return of a powerhouse team from the Big Ten to the National University Holiday Bowl promises renewed excitement for our community as well as for fans traveling to our great city,” Mudd said. “We also mark a big milestone as we celebrate the 10th year of the (San Diego County Credit Union) Poinsettia Bowl. To welcome Navy back is the perfect way to honor the anniversary.”
Navy played in the first Poinsettia Bowl in 2005 and the inaugural Holiday Bowl in 1978.
Both games will be played at Qualcomm Stadium and be televised nationally on ESPN.
–City News Service