The OSU Beavers football team is set to take on the University of Florida Gators in Saturday’s Las Vegas Bowl.
It’s the first ever meeting between the two teams, but OSU coach Jonathan Smith said he has a lot of respect for the University of Florida’s football program.
“We’re definitely looking forward to the matchup, but (we) know we’re going to have to play really, really well to have a chance to win the game after we’ve learned about these guys over the last two, three weeks,” said Smith.
The Beavers are looking for their first victory in a bowl game since 2013. Kickoff is 11:30 a.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
During the week leading up to the game, Smith said he ran into plenty of OSU fans who had arrived in Las Vegas several days ahead of Saturday's match-up.
"That's why we're really excited about this game," he said. "It was a location and an opponent that our fan base would be excited to come see."
The game will be the Beavers' first since the team rallied from being down 21 points to defeat the University of Oregon Ducks on Nov. 26 in Corvallis.
Oregon State is ranked 17th in the Associated Press Top 25 football rankings. Florida comes into the game unranked.
