Holiday Bowl keeping an eye on the Cougars

PULLMAN – The college football postseason picture was thrown into chaos on Saturday as the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 teams in the country all lost. But the bowl game executives are already in process of vetting teams and figuring out which programs they should prepare to host in the coming weeks.

On Saturday, a representative of the Holiday Bowl was in the Martin Stadium press box checking out the Cougars.

“We’re very impressed with their season so far,” said Harry Melkerson, who is on the Holiday Bowl Board of Directors. “We’re glad to see them back. They were in town in 2003 and brought us one of the best finishes we’ve ever seen when they beat Vince Young and Texas.”

The Holiday Bowl is the third-ranked bowl affiliated with the Pac-12. The Rose Bowl takes the winner of the Pac-12 championship game, provided that team is not invited to the College Football Playoff. Then the Alamo Bowl takes the loser, or the team with the next-best conference record.

The Holiday Bowl will select among the teams with the best conference record in the Pac-12, or with one more conference loss. Melkerson said that the primary consideration his committee will use when selecting a team is the economic impact on San Diego, the host city.

So, athletic director Bill Moos has been lobbying Melkerson and other bowl executives to convince them that the WSU fan base will travel well.

“There’s a hunger to go to a good bowl game, here,” Melkerson said. “(Moos) says there would be a great turnout.”

In addition to turnout, Melkerson said the bowl considers the national interest in various matchups when making is selection.

The Holiday Bowl takes place on December 27th, and kicks off at 4 p.m.