SAN DIEGO -- The Texas Longhorns will put on their best faces and head for Southern California in late December -- to San Diego, not Pasadena.

The No. 10 Longhorns (10-2), who blew a shot at playing in the Rose Bowl with their turnover-filled loss to Colorado in the Big 12 championship game, accepted an invitation Monday to play No. 20 Washington (8-3) in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 28.

It's a good matchup, even though both teams are coming off disappointing losses. Texas had its national championship hopes wrecked in its 39-37 loss to Colorado, and Washington was overwhelmed 65-7 by No. 1 Miami two weekends ago.

Texas coach Mack Brown put the best spin he could on a return trip to the Holiday Bowl, where the Longhorns lost to Oregon 35-30 last year.

"Not many teams have a chance to win 11 games and finish in the top 10, and that's something we want to do," Brown said in a statement.

Texas quarterback Chris Simms had three interceptions and lost a fumble against Colorado. In last year's Holiday Bowl, he threw four interceptions yet almost rallied the Longhorns to victory.

Simms' performance against Colorado opened an old wound for Longhorns fans and Brown: the controversy on whether to play Simms or Major Applewhite, the school's career passing leader.

Applewhite nearly rallied Texas to a win against Colorado with two touchdown passes.

Regardless of how Texas' QB controversy plays out, Holiday Bowl officials are hoping for another exciting game. After lackluster games through most of the 1990s, the Holiday Bowl returned to its adrenaline-rush reputation when it started matching the Pac-10's No. 2 team against the third pick from the Big 12 in 1998.

In order, Arizona beat Nebraska 23-20, Kansas State beat Washington 24-20 and Oregon beat Texas by five.

"We've got two teams with a mission," said Bruce Binkowski, the Holiday Bowl's executive director. "This could be a great game. It could be interesting. We want another last-second finish.

"Hey, 8-3 versus 10-2, you can't beat it."

Washington will play in the Holiday Bowl for the third time in six years. While the Huskies are 0-2 in the Holiday Bowl, their coach, Rick Neuheisel is 1-1. He coached Colorado to a 33-21 win over Washington in 1996.

"We're excited about facing a team the caliber of Texas," Neuheisel said. "Washington and Texas have great football traditions and it's hard to imagine they have not played each other since 1979. It should be a big-time matchup for the Holiday Bowl."

Texas leads the series, 2-1. The teams last played in the 1979 Sun Bowl, with Washington winning 14-7.