IRVING, Texas – The Tulane Green Wave will see its championship season continue in its biggest bowl game in decades as the American Athletic Conference champions highlight a group of seven teams from the conference that were selected to 2022 Bowl Season.
Tulane (11-2), which was ranked No. 16 in the final College Football Playoff rankings of the season after winning its first American Athletic Conference title Saturday, will face No. 10 USC (11-2) in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Jan. 2, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The matchup against the Trojans will be the first for Tulane since 1946 and will be the third meeting between the schools. Tulane and USC first met in the Rose Bowl following the 1931 season, when the Trojans took a 21-12 win.
Tulane will make its 15th bowl appearance as the Green Wave plays in Bowl Season for the fourth time in five years and plays in the Cotton Bowl for the first time. It will be the eighth time in The American’s 10 seasons that the conference has placed a team in either the College Football Playoff semifinals or a New Year’s Six bowl.
UCF (9-3), which fell to Tulane in The American Championship Game will head to Annapolis, Maryland, to face Duke (8-4) Dec. 28 in the Military Bowl presented by Peraton at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. It will be the first meeting between the schools as UCF makes its 14th bowl appearance in program history and its program-record seventh consecutive bowl trip. The Knights will play in the Military Bowl for the first time.
Cincinnati (9-3) will kick off The American’s bowl campaign when the Bearcats head to Boston for a Wasabi Fenway Bowl matchup against Louisville (7-5) Dec. 17 at Fenway Park. The game will renew the longstanding Keg of Nails rivalry and will be the 54th meeting between the former conference rivals. Cincinnati will make its 21st bowl appearance overall and its fifth consecutive trip to Bowl Season. It will be the first bowl game to be played at historic Fenway Park.
East Carolina (7-5) is back in Bowl Season as the Pirates battle Coastal Carolina (6-6) in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium Dec. 27 in Birmingham, Alabama. It will be the first meeting between the Pirates and Chanticleers and will be East Carolina’s third appearance in the Birmingham Bowl. East Carolina was selected to Bowl Season for the 19th time in program history.
SMU (7-5) was chosen for a bowl game for the 20th time as the Mustangs were paired with BYU (6-6) in the New Mexico Bowl Dec. 17 at University Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico. SMU will look for its first win in four meetings with the Cougars, who have gone 1-1 against American Athletic Conference teams in 2022. SMU will play in the New Mexico Bowl for the first time.
Houston (7-5) will head to the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl as the Cougars will face Louisiana (6-6) Dec. 23 at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. It will be the schools’ first meeting since 2006 and will mark Houston’s first trip to the Independence Bowl. The Cougars are making their 29th bowl appearance.
Memphis (6-6) was chosen for a bowl game for the ninth consecutive season as the Tigers will face Utah State (6-6) in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Dec. 27 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. Memphis and Utah State have met seven times previously, most recently in 1977. The Tigers will make their first appearance in the First Responder Bowl and accepted their 13th bowl bid overall.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TEAMS IN BOWL SEASON
Wasabi Fenway Bowl | Dec. 17
Fenway Park | Boston, Mass.
Cincinnati (9-3) vs. Louisville (7-5), 11 a.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Series: Cincinnati leads, 30-22-1
Last Meeting: Dec. 5, 2013 (Louisville, 31-24)
New Mexico Bowl | Dec. 17
University Stadium | Albuquerque, N.M.
SMU (7-5) vs. BYU (7-5), 2:15 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Series: BYU leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 27, 1997 (BYU, 19-16)
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl | Dec. 23
Independence Stadium | Shreveport, La.
Houston (7-5) vs. Louisiana (6-6), 3 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Series: Houston leads, 6-3
Last Meeting: Oct. 7, 2006 (Louisiana, 31-28)
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl | Dec. 27
Gerald J. Ford Stadium | Dallas, Texas
Memphis (6-6) vs. Utah State (6-6), 3:15 p.m.
Television: ESPN
Series: Memphis leads, 4-3
Last Meeting: Sept. 17, 1977 (Memphis, 31-26)
TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl | Dec. 27
Protective Stadium | Birmingham, Ala.
East Carolina (7-5) vs. Coastal Carolina (9-3), 6:45 p.m.
Television: ESPN
Series: First meeting
Military Bowl presented by Peraton | Dec. 28
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | Annapolis, Md.
UCF (9-3) vs. Duke, 2 p.m.
Television: ESPN
Series: First meeting
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic | Jan. 2
AT&T Stadium | Arlington, Texas
No. 16 Tulane (11-2) vs. No. 10 USC (11-2), 1 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Series: USC leads, 2-1
Last Meeting: Dec. 21, 1946 (USC, 20-13)