USC is headed to the Holiday Bowl to play Wisconsin, and the Trojans will do it with a coaching staff depleted by firings.
Trojans Coach Clay Helton on Sunday dismissed defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, defensive backs coach Keith Heyward, defensive line coach Chris Wilson and offensive line coach Bob Connelly.
"I made the decision to go in a different direction," Helton said during a scheduled teleconference with reporters that occurred a few hours after the Trojans learned their bowl fate and shortly after news broke about the firings.
The dismissals occurred a day after USC lost to Stanford, 41-22, in the Pac-12 Conference championship game.