What happens in Vegas…
Huskies will take on No. 20 Boise State in Las Vegas
BOISE, Idaho – The Las Vegas Bowl will have a Northwest flavor as Washington and No. 20 Boise State square off for just the second time in the history of the two schools.
The Broncos (10-2) and Huskies (7-5) accepted invitations to the Dec. 22 bowl Sunday.
It’s a familiar postseason scenario for the Broncos, who have played their bowl games in Las Vegas each of the last two years. Boise State earned a third trip Saturday by knocking off Nevada to grab a share of the Mountain West Conference title with Fresno State and San Diego State.
“We are excited to return to the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas and face the University of Washington,” Broncos head coach Chris Petersen said in a statement. “Coach (Steve) Sarkisian and his staff do an excellent job in preparing their team and we look forward to the challenge of playing a Pac-12 opponent for the second straight year.”
Boise State beat Arizona State last year and Utah the previous year.
Washington is heading to its third straight bowl game but will play in Las Vegas for the first time in the program’s 123-year history.
The Huskies won seven games for the second straight season and beat a pair of Top 10 teams. But they were also inconsistent at times and were beaten badly by Oregon and Arizona and in the regular-season finale against Washington State.
“It’s a great destination for not only our football team, but for our fans and for Husky faithful to come support us,” Sarkisian said. “It’s a tremendous bowl game, one that’s got a great deal of history in our conference and people going to play it.”
The Huskies beat Boise State 24-10 in their first meeting in Seattle in 2009. Then-redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Locker led the way and helped snap the Broncos’ 14-game winning streak. The two teams are scheduled to meet again to kick off the 2013 season in the Huskies’ newly renovated stadium.
“Somebody’s going to win and somebody’s going to lose this first one,” Sarkisian said. “Then we are going to come back nine months later to see who can win the second one.”