USC and Louisville are set for Holiday Bowl tilt

Zoom in: Louisville finished second in the ACC to earn the bowl invite, finishing with a 10-3 record and as 15th in the College Football Playoff rankings.

• USC began the year with national championship aspirations and the presumptive top pick in next year's NFL draft in reigning Heisman Trophy winner QB Caleb Williams. But they've slogged their way to a 7-5 record.

Zoom out: In 2021, the City Council voted to lift a ban on football games being played at Petco Park, clearing the Holiday Bowl to relocate after the demolition of the former Chargers Stadium.

• San Diego had to wait until 2022 for its first downtown Holiday Bowl after UCLA was forced to withdraw from the 2021 game at the last minute due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

By the numbers: San Diego hotel guests pay a room fee that's sent to the nonprofit Tourism and Marketing District, which then issues grants to promote tourism to the region.

• The Holiday Bowl received $435,000 from the TMD in 2023.

Editor's note: The headline and URL have been corrected to reflect that USC will face Louisville, not Clemson, in the Holiday Bowl.