Rice will play Fresno State in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve at Aloha Stadium.

The bowl game is the third straight postseason berth for the Conference USA-member Owls (7-5), who rebounded from three straight losses to open the season. They won six straight at one point before losing two of their final three games.

Rice has won seven or more games in each of the last three seasons, and its 24 wins over that stretch are the most over a three-year span in school history.

The Bulldogs (6-7), who lost to Boise State in the Mountain West championship game, are making their second Hawaii Bowl appearance, having lost in Honolulu to SMU in 2012. Fresno State has made 14 bowl appearances in the last 16 seasons.