No. 19 Oregon State is headed to Texas for bowl season as the Beavers were invited to play in the Sun Bowl in El Paso on Dec. 29.

OSU (8-4) plays No. 16 Notre Dame, an independent but affiliated with the Atlantic Coast Conference, at 11 a.m. in Sun Bowl Stadium. The Fighting Irish were 9-3 this season, a record that includes one-sided wins over USC and Stanford.

Notre Dame-Oregon State is one of seven top-20 matchups during the 2023 bowl season.

Oregon State bowl history with Notre Dame is well known among the fan base. The Fighting Irish were the opponent in the Beavers’ signature bowl victory, the 2001 Fiesta Bowl when OSU routed Notre Dame 41-9. Three years later, Oregon State clubbed the Fighting Irish 38-21 in the Insight Bowl.

Those are the only two times Oregon State and Notre Dame have played.

The last time OSU played an ACC-affiliated team was Maryland in the 2007 Emerald Bowl. The Terrapins have since left the ACC for the Big Ten. The Beavers played current ACC members Louisville (2010) and Pittsburgh (2008), but they were not part of that conference when Oregon State played the game.

This is Oregon State’s third Sun Bowl appearance. The Beavers are 2-0 in the El Paso-based bowl, and both were thrillers in different ways. In 2006, OSU defeated Missouri 39-38, the game-winner coming on a two-point conversion with 23 seconds left. In 2008, Oregon State beat Pittsburgh 3-0 in the lowest scoring bowl game since 1959.

Oregon State is making its third consecutive bowl appearance and 20th overall. The Beavers are 12-7 overall in bowl games. OSU routed Florida 30-3 in the 2022 Las Vegas Bowl.

Notre Dame opened as a 10½-point favorite over Oregon State.

The Beavers have been underdogs twice this season, the other time to Oregon. Notre Dame won eight of its nine games this season by double-digit margins.

Oregon State is down two quarterbacks for its Sun Bowl appearance as freshman quarterback Aidan Chiles, a former 4-star quarterback recruit, is in the NCAA transfer portal. Chiles joins junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who started 12 games for Oregon State this season.

The 6-foot-3 Chiles was the most exciting quarterback prospect at Oregon State in years. His dual threat skills were enticing, and the Beavers gave him an opportunity to show them off during the 2023 season.

Chiles played in nine games, often during the third series of games. He was 24 of 35 for 309 yards and four touchdowns. Chiles also ran 17 times for 79 yards and three scores.

Speculation has Chiles landing at Michigan State, now coached by former OSU coach Jonathan Smith. During an interview earlier this season, Chiles said Smith was the reason he signed with OSU in 2022.