Holiday Bowl still possibility for Huskies

Believe it or not, the Husky football team might find its way into the Holiday Bowl for the third time in four years.

Despite finishing their season with a 4-4 record in the Pac-10, with some help, the Huskies could return to San Diego, where they lost to Texas 47-43 in 2001.

Losses by Arizona State and UCLA in their final games would create a five-way tie for third place at 4-4 in the conference. In the event of a tie in the conference standings, each bowl has the right to pick who they want from the tied teams. In this scenario, Washington could be picked to go to the Holiday Bowl, which is contracted to take the No. 2 team in the Pac-10.

This scenario is also contingent on both No. 9 Washington State and No. 6 USC being selected to play in BCS bowl games -- a USC win against Notre Dame would increase these chances.

Barring the Holiday Bowl, the Huskies are in the running for five other bowls: the Wells Fargo Sun, Insight, Sega Las Vegas, Silicon Valley -- and even the Seattle Bowl.

Again, it will be up to the bowls to decide which teams they choose from the logjam in the middle of the Pac-10 standings. But if Arizona State and UCLA win their final games, they will likely take the Sun Bowl and the Insight Bowl, sending Oregon State and Washington to either Las Vegas or Silicon Valley.

California, which is also 4-4 in the Pac-10 , would be in the mix; however, the NCAA banned the Bears from postseason competition this year after revealing academic violations involving the football team.

In addition to the six bowl games that have contracts with the Pac-10, the Seattle Bowl is on the market for a seventh team for its bowl game at the new Seahawks Stadium.

This season, the Seattle Bowl is contracted to take the No. 4 team from the Mountain West Conference. However, the Mountain West only generated three bowl-eligible teams, freeing the Seattle Bowl from its obligation.

A likely candidate for the Seattle Bowl is Oregon. The Ducks finished eighth in the conference but are still bowl-eligible at 7-5, and their proximity and fan enthusiasm make them a feasible match.

Although there are only three more games to be played in the Pac-10, all have implications in the final standings. The Huskies won't know for sure which bowl game they will attend until Dec. 8, after Washington State and UCLA close out the conference schedule.

However, some Husky players have their preferences.

"Let's go to Vegas," said quarterback Cody Pickett. "Vegas on Christmas sounds cool."