The WSU football team will head to San Diego this bowl season to take on the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in the National Funding Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27.

The Cougars are making their second straight bowl game appearance for the first time since 2003 when the team took on Texas in the program’s most recent Holiday Bowl appearance.

The Cougars worked their way into the Pac-12 Conference’s third-highest ranked bowl game on the back of an eight-game winning streak that helped the team finish the regular season with an 8-4 overall record and an opportunity to tie last year’s season as the program’s winningest since 2003.

“We are thrilled to be going to the Holiday Bowl,” Head Coach Mike Leach said. “It is going to be a great matchup against two great teams. The last time we were in the Holiday Bowl, we had a tremendous experience and expect the same this time around.”

The Cougars beat out an 18th-ranked Stanford squad and a 19th-ranked Utah team to earn the Pac-12’s Holiday Bowl bid despite being unranked to end the regular season. WSU’s head-to-head victory over the Cardinals and Utah and ending the season with a two-game losing streak that included a home loss to a 4-8 Oregon team appear to be big factors in the Cougars receiving the bid over the two schools.

Another factor in the Cougars climbing the bowl game ladder was No. 4 Washington earning a bid to play in the College Football Playoff. As a result, every bowl-eligible team moved up one spot in the pecking order, enabling the Cougars to return to San Diego for the third time in program history.

WSU carries a 1-1 all-time record in the Holiday Bowl. The Cougars’ first appearance in 1981 resulted in a narrow defeat at the hands of No. 14 BYU while the program knocked off No. 5 Texas in 2003.

This year’s matchup is much less extravagant due to a shift in bowl contracts and four Big 10 teams earning ‘New Year’s Six’ bowl bids, but the matchup presents a great opportunity for the program.

“We’ve got a lot of alumni in southern California and even have an alumni chapter in San Diego,” WSU Athletic Director Bill Moos said. “I really feel a passion in our fan base and have every reason to believe they will follow us closely when we head to San Diego to play.”

A Holiday Bowl win for WSU is a great next step toward building a consistently competitive Pac-12 program. A good showing in the recruiting hotbed of Southern California not only boosts the Cougars national prestige but also might open the eyes of potential recruits.

The Big 10 is arguably the strongest Power Five conference in college football this season, as three of its participating teams were ranked in the top-six of the final College Football Playoff selection committee’s rankings. The Golden Gophers’ (8-4) weak non-conference schedule and narrow conference victories likely make WSU the betting favorite entering the game.

The game will air on ESPN at 4 p.m. on Dec. 27.