Hawaii is not playing at Aloha Stadium on Christmas Eve, but the Oregon State Beavers are clearly capable of representing the islands for the next few days.

One of nine Pac-12 teams playing in bowl games, the Beavers feature five players from Hawaii and seven coaches with local ties, making for one giant homecoming in Tuesday’s Sheraton Hawaii Bowl at Aloha Stadium.

Head coach Mike Riley, whose team heads into the game against Boise State with a five-game losing streak, hit the jackpot when it was selected for the Hawaii Bowl despite the game’s conference tie-in with Conference-USA.

Part of Riley’s success in his two stints as OSU coach has come from scouring the islands for talented prospects.

"Oregon State has a great history here in Hawaii," Riley said at Friday’s press conference. "We have players on the team from Hawaii and we plan on having more players in the future on our team from Hawaii, so lots of good stuff here."

Senior Mana Rosa, a Baldwin alumnus, found out he would play his final collegiate game at home from his mother, who first saw the news online.

It’ll be his first game at Aloha Stadium since blocking an extra point against Leilehua in a 41-34 loss in the 2007 Division I state semifinals.

"Having an opportunity to play another game and have the support of my family who will be over here for the game is exciting," said Rosa, currently eighth on the Beavers with 49 tackles this season.

Oregon State also features Hilo grad Devon Kell and Saint Louis alumnus Ali‘i Robins on its defensive line. Mid-Pacific’s Titus Failauga and Kealakehe’s Manase Hungalu are true freshmen who are redshirting.

The Beavers are fortunate to be playing in a bowl game after losing five straight following a 6-1 start.

The Beavers lost to FCS-member Eastern Washington in their season opener before rattling off six straight wins, beginning with a 42-14 win over Hawaii.

They became bowl eligible with a 32-point win over California before losing a 20-12 nail-biter to Stanford that sent the team spiraling toward a 6-6 regular-season finish.

"We want to win because we haven’t won in a while, for one thing," Riley said. "For us, (a win) puts us to a winning season at 7-6 and I’ve told our guys these bowl games are fun, they’re outstanding, it’s great to be involved in, but it doesn’t feel that good if we don’t win."

Junior Brandin Cooks, who won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver, set a Pac-12 record with 120 receptions this season and needs 51 receiving yards against the Broncos to surpass the record for most yards, set last season by USC’s Marqise Lee.

"We’re ready," Cooks said. "Last year after playing Texas we lost and had to (deal) with that for a year and we don’t want to do that again."

Oregon State is 5-2 in bowl games since Riley began his second stint as the Beavers’ head coach in 2003.

His current staff includes defensive coordinator Mark Banker, who coached outside linebackers and special teams at UH in 1995, and offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh, who held the same job at Hawaii from 1999 to 2004.

"It’s like a second home obviously," Cavanaugh said. "We had a great six-year run coaching a lot of great players and making a lot of great friends and once you’re adopted here, you’re adopted for life and that’s an awesome thing."

Although he’s been gone nine years, Cavanaugh hasn’t forgotten his favorite spots to grab a bite to eat.

"I already went to Leonard’s last night and got the malasadas and obviously I got to get to Grace’s for some mochiko chicken," he said.