2007 Holiday Bowl
The 2007 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played December 27, 2007 in San Diego. It was part of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season and one of 32 games in the 2007–2008 bowl season. It featured the Texas Longhorns against the Arizona State Sun Devils. Texas won 52–34 and set Holiday Bowl records for the earliest score and for most points scored in the first quarter. Texas also set a school record for most points scored in a bowl game. A bizarre play involving Chris Jessee, a member of the Longhorn football operations staff and the stepson of the Texas head coach, has been cited as one of the strangest plays of the season.
2009 Rose Bowl
The teams participating in the Rose Bowl Game were announced on Sunday, December 7, by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses football committee. Big Ten co-champions, Penn State, coached by Joe Paterno, were picked to play against Southern California, the champions of the Pac-10, coached by Pete Carroll. Penn State earned its bid via a head-to-head tiebreaker, beating Ohio State, 13–6 in Columbus, Ohio, on October 25, 2008. The Men of Troy earned their way in by defeating UCLA 28-7 on December 6, 2008. USC was designated as the home team, wearing dark jerseys and using the east bench on game day.