Ohio State, Fresno State to Play in Pigskin Classic : Football: Big Ten co-champions accept berth for Aug. 29 game in Anaheim Stadium.

Ohio State agreed Friday to play in the Disneyland Pigskin Classic, ending a lengthy search for an opponent to play Fresno State in the Aug. 29 game at Anaheim Stadium.

Turned down by Nebraska in early March, Don Andersen, executive director of the Orange County Sports Assn., said he was happy to have Ohio State.

“I think it’s a nice catch,” Andersen said. “It makes it doubly pleasing to have a Big Ten team. I don’t think we’ve had it any better than Ohio State as far as tradition and winning goes.

“What Ohio State brings to the party is national recognition. Fresno brings a lot of people. The Red Wave coming down the freeway is going to be pretty good for us.”

Ohio State (10-1-1) tied Wisconsin for the Big Ten championship, but the Badgers won the conference tiebreaker and played in the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes defeated Brigham Young, 28-21, in the Holiday Bowl.

“We had a team meeting, and the players voted unanimously to accept the invitation,” Ohio State Coach John Cooper told reporters in Columbus, Ohio.

Fresno State (8-4) shared the Western Athletic Conference title for the second consecutive season. The Bulldogs lost to Colorado, 41-30, in the Aloha Bowl.

In the 1992 Freedom Bowl, the Bulldogs upset USC, 24-7, and attracted 50,745, the second-largest crowd in the game’s history.