What's at stake in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl between USC and Texas A&M?

Lincoln Riley’s USC Trojans and Mike Elko’s Texas A&M Aggies are heading to Sin City for a battle in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 27.

Held since 1992, the Las Vegas Bowl was played at Sam Boyd Stadium, the former home of UNLV football, until 2019 when it was moved to the recently completed Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.

In the Las Vegas Bowl, Texas A&M looks to complete a nine-win campaign in Year 1 under Elko, which would be its first time reaching that benchmark since the COVID-impacted 2020 season under Jimbo Fisher. The Aggies also seek their first bowl win since the Orange Bowl after the 2020 season.

USC, meanwhile, finished the regular season a disappointing 6-6 in Year 3 of Riley’s tenure. The Trojans are looking to avoid their first sub-.500 finish since 2021, the final season under Clay Helton. They also look to string together back-to-back bowl wins after defeating Louisville in last season’s Holiday Bowl.

Texas A&M had a hot 7-1 start to the season after losing to Notre Dame in its opener, but despite being in potential CFP position at one point, it dropped three of its final four games including unranked losses to South Carolina and Auburn as it finished 8-4.

USC’s season started out on a high note with a win over LSU, also at Allegiant Stadium, but it struggled in its first Big Ten campaign and narrowly reached bowl eligibility with a 19-13 win over rival UCLA.

The Trojans look for their second win of the season in Las Vegas while Texas A&M looks to match Fisher’s highest win total in College Station in Year 1 of the new regime.