The 2019 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 27, 2019. Kickoff was at 8:07 p.m. EST (5:07 p.m. local PST). The game was aired on FS1. It was the 42nd edition of the Holiday Bowl, and was one of the 2019âÂÂ20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season. This was the third season in which the Holiday Bowl was held at SDCCU Stadium. The game was sponsored by San Diego County Credit Union and officially known as the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl.
This game marked the last Holiday Bowl with a tie-in with the Big Ten Conference, as the bowl replaced its Big Ten tie-in with an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) tie-in. This was also the last Holiday Bowl played at SDCCU Stadium, as the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the venue was subsequently demolished to make way for a new stadium.
The game featured the USC Trojans of the Pac-12 Conference and Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten Conference. This was the 10th meeting between the two programs, with USC holding a 7âÂÂ2 edge in previous meetings. This was Iowa's fourth Holiday Bowl, going 2âÂÂ0âÂÂ1 in previous appearances in 1986 (won against SDSU Aztecs 39âÂÂ38), 1987 (won against Wyoming Cowboys 20âÂÂ19) and 1991 (tied against BYU Cougars 13âÂÂ13 â this was the last time a postseason game was tied in the NCAA). This was USC's third Holiday Bowl, going 1âÂÂ1 in previous appearances in 2014 (won against Nebraska Cornhuskers 45âÂÂ42) and 2015 (lost against Wisconsin Badgers 21âÂÂ23). The teams had previously met in the 2003 Orange Bowl, where USC won by a score of 38âÂÂ17.
The Trojans entered the game with an 8âÂÂ4 record (7âÂÂ2 in conference) and ranked 22nd in the AP Poll. The Trojans finished in second place in the Pac-12's South Division. USC was 2âÂÂ3 against ranked teams.
The Hawkeyes entered the game ranked 19th in the AP Poll (16th in the CFP poll), with a 9âÂÂ3 record (6âÂÂ3 in conference). The Hawkeyes finished in third place in the Big Ten's West Division. Iowa was 1âÂÂ3 against ranked teams.