Anchorage's Brandon Pili is headed to the Cotton Bowl with the eighth-ranked USC Trojans.
USC (11-2), the Pac-12 champion, will take on fifth-ranked Ohio State (11-1) in the 82nd edition of the Cotton Bowl, one of the country's premier bowl games. The Dec. 29 game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will air live on ESPN.
Pili spent three years at Dimond High before transferring to an Oregon school for his final year of high school.
The Trojans considered redshirting him this season but an injury to another player ended those plans, and Pili, a true freshman who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 320 pounds, has started at defensive tackle in USC's last eight games.