Washington State is officially headed to the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27 in San Diego, and they’ve got a former Pac-12 conference rival to thank for it.

That would Arizona State, whose win over Iowa State in the Big 12 title game helped lock WSU into the Holiday bowl, a top tier bowl for former Pac-12 schools.

Arizona State’s win punched their ticket into the first 12-team College Football Playoff. It also effectively solidified Colorado into the Alamo Bowl as the best former Pac-12 school not in the playoff.

The Holiday bowl had second choice of Pac-12 school’s, and was bound to choose the Cougars due to their superior record (8-4). No other former Pac-12 school reached seven wins, with Washington, Cal and USC all topping out at 6-6.

Had the Sun Devil’s lost to the Cyclones in the Big 12 Title game, the Alamo Bowl would have likely taken ASU, leaving Colorado for the Holiday Bowl, and dropping WSU to the Las Vegas Bowl.

While there were certainly some Coug fans hoping for a trip to Vegas, the Holiday Bowl is a much better financial outcome for WSU, which will likely receive a payout north of $3 million to split with the Beavers. That is significant money, and could go a long way in keeping the roster and coaching staff together in 2025.

The Las Vegas Bowl has a much smaller payout of only around $1 million. Needless to say, from a monetary standpoint, the Cougars got a good deal. They benefited from a somewhat easy schedule to go 8-4, and have been rewarded with a marquee bowl game against a top-25 program. The Las Vegas Bowl will now feature USC against Texas A&M, while Washington is set to take on Louisville in the Sun Bowl.