Utah, the Western Athletic Conference runner-up, was chosen Sunday to play in the Dec. 27 Freedom Bowl against Arizona or Washington State.
The Utes (9-2, 6-2 WAC) defeated Brigham Young 34-31 Saturday to tie BYU for second place and earn their second straight trip to Anaheim.The Pacific-10 third-place team will receive the other bid. Arizona (7-3, 5-2) and Washington State (7-4, 5-3) are possible representatives.
Arizona plays Arizona State on Friday and could tie USC (6-2, 7-3) for second place in the Pac-10. The bowl coalition then gets a choice of teams before the Freedom Bowl selects.
If the coalition picks USC, Arizona would be invited to the Freedom Bowl with a win over Arizona State.
If Arizona wins and the coalition selects the Wildcats, the Freedom Bowl would select Washington State, said Don Andersen, director of the Orange County Sports Association.
Also, the Utes were elevated to 15th in the Associated Press college football poll Sunday, while BYU moved to 23rd.
Nebraska and Penn State remained 1-2, while Alabama moved from fourth to third after defeating previously unbeaten Auburn.
Nebraska (11-0), which can clinch an Orange Bowl berth Friday by beating Oklahoma, received 39 first-place votes and 1,526 points from a nationwide media panel. The Cornhuskers were idle Saturday.
Penn State (10-0) got 22 firsts and 1,507 points after beating Northwestern 45-17 Saturday. The Nittany Lions close their regular season against Michigan State, then play Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
Alabama (11-0) received one first-place vote and 1,411 points after a 21-14 victory over Auburn. The Crimson Tide plays No. 4 Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game Dec. 3, with the winner going to the Sugar Bowl and the loser to the Citrus.
Nebraska, Penn State and Alabama also were the top three teams in the USA Today-CNN coaches' poll, where the first-place vote totals were identical to the AP poll.
Florida (9-1) dropped one spot in the AP poll after beating Vanderbilt 24-7, while Miami (9-1) remained No. 5 after downing Temple 38-14. Rounding out the Top 10 were Colorado (10-1), Florida State (9-1), Texas A&M (10-0-1), Auburn (9-1-1) and Colorado State (10-1).
Auburn dropped three notches after its 21-game unbeaten streak was stopped, while Colorado State stayed No. 10 after defeating Fresno State 44-42. CSU, WAC champs, will play in the Holiday Bowl.