DALLAS – The No. 10 Southern California Trojans made the trek from the West Coast to the Lone Star State on Tuesday in advance of its January 2 matchup with the No. 16 Tulane Green Wave in the 87th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.
 
USC arrived at the Hilton Anatole Hotel at around 4:30 p.m. local time to begin its bowl game week preparations for its third Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic appearance in school history. As the team got settled in at their bowl home for the week, USC head coach Lincoln Riley and senior defensive lineman Nick Figueroa shared some thoughts on the upcoming week at a press conference held shortly after the team's arrival.
 
"It's great to be here," said Riley. "It's a bowl that so many of us have so many fond memories, whether just growing up and watching this game, especially for me being from the state. And (my) fourth time now at the Cotton Bowl, so very blessed to be here.
 
"And we've used the opportunity in the prep leading up to start to educate our team on what playing in the Cotton Bowl really means. This is forever and ever one of the most iconic and historic games and one of the most important games in our sport."

USC (11-2, 8-1 in the Pac-12 Conference) will be making its first appearance in the Classic since 2017, when it fell to Ohio State 24-7. The Trojans won in their other Cotton Bowl Classic appearance, defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders 55-14 in 1995.

Figueroa echoed the sentiments of his head coach in regard the opportunity he and his teammates have to play in this storied bowl game. In addition, he also mentioned some other bowl week experiences that may be on the horizon, if time affords an opportunity to take in some of North Texas' staples.

"I grew up a big (Dallas) Cowboys fan," said Figueroa. "First thing, getting to go play in that stadium, practice in that stadium, that's a big deal to me. And Whataburger, of course, In-N-Out, the rivalry, got to see it. Got to see what it's about.
 
"I'm thinking maybe, like, checking out a Buc-ee's. I've heard that can be quite the experience. And just whatever. I'm excited to see it all. Get fitted for my hat later today. Blessed to be here for sure."
 
The Trojans will visit children at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital on Wednesday morning before holding their first on-site bowl practice at AT&T Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
 
The 87th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic is Monday, Jan. 2 at Noon CT on ESPN and ESPN Radio. Kickoff is slated for 12:10 p.m.
 
This year's Classic is a part of the ESPN bowl lineup for the ninth straight year. Mark Jones and Robert Griffin III are set to the call the action from the booth with Quint Kessenich reporting from the sidelines.
 
ESPN Radio returns as the Classic's national radio partner for the ninth consecutive year with Brad Sham and Dusty Dvoracek in the booth and Taylor McGregor on the sidelines to describe all the action from AT&T Stadium.

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