The Hawaii Bowl is reportedly close to announcing Louisiana Tech as the University of Hawaii’s opponent for the Dec. 22 game, according to people briefed on recent developments.

The Bulldogs are 7-5 overall and 5-3 in Conference USA, finishing tied for second in the West Division.

UH is 8-2 overall against the Bulldogs and 5-0 at Aloha Stadium in a series that dates to their membership in the old Western Athletic Conference.

Defense is the Bulldogs’ main strength, ranking 40th among 130 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision in scoring defense (23.8 points per game). They score an average of 24.2 points per game, ranking 100th.

Defensive end Jaylon Ferguson is among the nation’s leaders in tackles for loss.

An announcement of the pairing will come prior to Saturday, which had been mentioned as a deadline by the Mountain West Conference.

An official at ESPN Events, the game’s owner and operator, did not immediately return calls to the Star-Advertiser.