Bowl projections 2012: USC could be headed for Sun Bowl or Alamo Bowl

It's not an easy end to the 2012 season for the USC Trojans. They'll face their bitter rival, the No. 17 UCLA Bruins in Pasadena this weekend before heading back home to face the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. But no matter how they finish the season, ESPN is projecting they play their bowl game in the Lone Star State in either the Sun Bowl or the Alamo Bowl.

A trip to either bowl would be a first for the Trojans. Their potential opponent in the Sun Bowl, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, have never been to El Paso for the postseason either. Meanwhile, their projected opponent for the Alamo Bowl, the Oklahoma St. Cowboys, have appeared in San Antonio three times in the postseason. Those appearances include a 33-20 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers in 1997, a 33-7 loss to Ohio State in 2004 and, most recently, a 36-10 win over the Arizona Wildcats in 2010.