Aided by a late-season surge, the Fresno State football team is now headed to its third bowl game in three seasons under head coach Tim DeRuyter.

The Bulldogs will head to the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu, where they will play the Rice University Owls.

This marks the second appearance for the Bulldogs in the Hawaii Bowl under DeRuyter. The ‘Dogs last went to the Bowl in 2012, DeRuyter’s first year at the helm, where they fell to SMU by a score of 43-10.

Fresno State (6-7, 5-3 Mountain West), will come into the matchup fresh off a 28-14 loss to Boise State in the conference title game.

The Owls, on the other hand, finished the year with one more win than the Bulldogs at 7-5 overall and 5-3 in conference play. After starting out 0-3, the Owls won six straight but dropped two of their last three contests to finish in a tie for second in the West Division of Conference USA.

Like the Owls, the Bulldogs also dropped their first three contests. However, they won six of their next nine to earn a spot in the Mountain West title game and become bowl eligible.

“We are thrilled to be playing in the Hawai`i Bowl against Rice,” DeRuyter said. “Having been to the Hawai`i Bowl just two years ago, our staff and players know that we are in for a fantastic week.”

“I am extremely proud of this year’s team, who battled and persevered all season long. We now look forward to competing against a highly respected Rice Owls team and look to send this special senior class out the right way with a victory.”

The Hawaii Bowl will take place at Aloha Stadium on Christmas Eve with kickoff set for 5 p.m. PT and will be televised by ESPN.

Tickets: Redwavers can purchase tickets to the Hawaii Bowl through the Fresno State ticket office starting Monday, Dec. 8 at 12 p.m. at the ticket office at the Save Mart Center, online on the Fresno State Athletics website (GoBulldogs.com) or over the phone at (559) 278-DOGS.