After USC lost to Utah in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl, Trojans coach Pete Carroll told the organizers: “Thanks for everything, but you are never going to see me again.”

He was right, as Carroll took the Trojans to the Orange or Rose bowls in each of the next seven seasons.

Oregon coach Mike Bellotti could have said the same thing after Oregon’s 38-8 loss to BYU in the 2006 Las Vegas Bowl as the Ducks spent the following nine seasons qualifying for games higher up on the Pac-12 bowl order. After missing the postseason last year for the first time since 2004, the Ducks are back in Las Vegas to face Boise State this Saturday.

“I didn’t think we’d go this long without them, but it’s been awesome to get them back,” said John Saccenti, the executive director of the bowl. “The reaction around Las Vegas has been tremendous to have a huge brand like Oregon that doesn’t ever come here. Their last visit was the springboard to start the Oregon we’ve know the past few years.”

Boise State has not been to the Las Vegas Bowl since 2012 when it beat Washington 28-26 to win the game for the third year in a row.

The Ducks and Broncos have not faced off since Chip Kelly’s debut as Oregon coach on Sept. 3, 2009, when Boise State won 19-8.

Saccenti was pleased to get the third all-time meeting between the two schools.

“I think it’s a natural rivalry with the two of them being so close to each other,” he said during a visit to Matthew Knight Arena on Friday night before Oregon’s men’s basketball win over Colorado State, a promotional stop that included an Elvis Presley impersonator and a Las Vegas showgirl.

“Boise has had a great run with the Fiesta Bowls they’ve played in, and they have not had too many down years,” Saccenti said. “Oregon has been on a tremendous run the last few years. They have both had explosive offenses for years and are great college football brands. They both have great fan travel and attract eyeballs on television.

“Those are two of the most important things for us, and the third is getting a good matchup on the field. When we were looking at this potential matchup, it checked all three boxes, so when it actually got done, we were doing backflips.”

Last month, Arizona appeared to be the Pac-12 team heading to Las Vegas for a game against either Boise State or Fresno State.

On the final week of the regular season, Washington defeated Washington State to move from No. 17 to No. 13 in the College Football Playoff rankings, putting the Huskies on the edge of a New Year’s Six game that would move every other Pac-12 team up in the bowl order.

On Dec. 2, TCU’s loss to Oklahoma moved the Huskies up to No. 11 and into the Fiesta Bowl, thus pushing Arizona up to the Foster Farms Bowl and the Ducks into the Las Vegas Bowl. Later on Dec. 2, the Broncos defeated Fresno State 17-14 to capture the Mountain West Conference title and finalize the matchup with Oregon.

“It was certainly attractive to us,” Saccenti said. “We thought we had a shot, and we were paying attention the whole time.”

The first meeting between the two schools was Boise State’s 37-32 win at Autzen Stadium in 2008, a game often remembered by Oregon fans for a late hit that knocked quarterback Jeremiah Masoli out of the game. The rematch the following year is known nationally for former Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount’s postgame punch.

Oregon has sold just over 4,000 of its allotment of 7,500 tickets for the game, a school spokesman said Monday, while Boise State was a little ahead of Oregon’s pace last week.

“The secondary market is selling really well, and that is probably Oregon fans buying those up,” Saccenti said. “The new coach will definitely help. I know fans were disappointed to see their coach leave after one year, but they are more excited now.”

Oregon promoted Mario Cristobal from interim to head coach on Friday while Saccenti was on campus. That was similar to last year when Houston named Major Applewhite as the replacement for Tom Herman on the day Saccenti was in Houston to promote the game.

“That’s a huge deal for us,” Saccenti said. “I think it eases the players’ minds a little bit and they are not as disappointed. It gives them something to look forward to rather than worrying about who will be the coach. From our perspective, it is always a better situation when you have a coach in place before the game.”

Oregon (7-5) won its last two games of the regular season after quarterback Justin Herbert returned from a fractured collarbone, and the Ducks sit as a seven-point favorite over the Broncos (10-3), who have won eight of their past nine games.

“We want teams that are going in the right direction,” Saccenti said. “Boise State and Oregon are great examples of that. Boise lost a couple games early and then started to win and get better as the season went along before winning the conference championship. That’s attractive to us.

“Oregon is the same way. They struggled when they didn’t have their quarterback and then they got him back and started scoring points. They were 6-1 with Herbert, a totally different team and some might argue one of the hottest teams in the country. I tell people not to look at the records because that Oregon team is much better than 7-5, no doubt about that.”

Boise State has reached a bowl game for the 16th year in a row after reaching double-digit wins for the third time in four years under coach Bryan Harsin. The Broncos lost 47-44 in triple overtime at Washington State on Sept. 9 and also lost to Virginia and Fresno State before winning a rematch against the Bulldogs in the MWC title game.

“They are tough, physical and athletic,” Cristobal said. “They are a very well-coached football team and it shows. You don’t consistently win that many games each year without being talented and well-coached.”