After a 9-3 season (5-3 ACC), Syracuse was selected for the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Sunday afternoon, with a matchup against Washington State (8-4) of the Pac-12.

For Syracuse, finishing a respectable 21st in the final CFP Top 25 ranking, it did not equate to the Orange getting a preferred trip to recruiting-rich Florida, but rather a third trip to the west coast this season to face revamped Pac-12 member Washington State (8-4) in the Holiday Bowl at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego on December 27 (8:00 p.m. ET / FOX).

After Fran Brown received a "back at you" shoutout from Clemson coach Dabo Swinney on ESPN early Sunday morning following the Tigers last-second win over SMU in the ACC Championship game that put them into the CFP, Brown and his team are left to savior the fruits of completing a 9-3 regular season with a trip to the great city of San Diego. But it's bittersweet.

The university and the majority in Orange Nation residing along the, Eastern Seaboard, were eyeing a much preferred, easier trip to recruiting-friendly Florida instead of California, and a bowl game opponent from the SEC in the Gator Bowl.

Instead, Duke, also with a 9-3 (5-3 ACC) record, will play in Jacksonville against SEC foe Ole Miss. The Blue Devils reportedly guaranteed more money to the bowl through ticket purchases, a commitment that the Syracuse athletic department reportedly declined, knowing it would mean another trip out west instead of down south, but coming with a slightly higher payout from the Holiday Bowl.

Saying he wanted to wait until the bowl scenario became official, Kyle McCord (and the other top 'Cuse NFL prospects) is now on the clock to decide if he's going to play one more time for SU, or instead stand on the sidelines in San Diego rooting on his teammates. If McCord opts out, it will be interesting to see which direction the Orange coaches turn among their options, the game now less than three weeks away.

Now the hurdle that stands in the way of recording just the third 10-win season this century (2001, 2018) and only the seventh dating back to the 1959 national championship, is beating a Washington State team (second all-time meeting) that ended the season on a three-game losing streak, and who's best win was against Washington in the Apple Cup.

Just the kind of business trip (and in this case some fun, too) that Brown and his staff relish the preparation.

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