Oregon State to play Boise State in Hawaii Bowl

HONOLULU (AP) — Oregon State will play Boise State in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve at Aloha Stadium.

The Beavers went 6-6 but dropped their final five games. There were questions about whether the team would receive a bowl bid, because the Pac-12 had nine bowl-eligible teams with only seven bowl agreements.

“I am thrilled that our football team has an opportunity to play another game at an exciting destination against an outstanding opponent in Boise State,” coach Mike Riley said in a statement.

It will be the team’s eighth bowl appearance under Riley, who is 5-2 in the postseason.

Boise State went 8-4 this season under coach Chris Petersen, who was hired last week as head coach of Washington. Assistant head coach Bob Gregory, who has been with the Broncos for five seasons, was named interim coach for the bowl game.

“The change has been a little dramatic at times,” Gregory said Sunday. “But our kids are great. We’ve had two really good, positive practices. Our kids are resilient.”

The Broncos are making their 12th straight bowl appearance, the seventh longest active streak in the nation. It is the team’s second trip to the Hawaii Bowl: In 2007, the Broncos fell 41-38 to East Carolina in Honolulu.

The two teams have met seven previous times, with Oregon State leading the series 4-3, but this is their first postseason game. The Broncos won the last meeting, 37-24, in Boise in 2010. The Broncos will visit Corvallis in the 2016 season.

Coincidentally, the men’s basketball teams from both schools will be in Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic at the University of Hawaii from Dec. 22-25.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for the Oregon State football program to represent the Pac-12 Conference at a region this University has strong ties to,” athletic director Bob De Carolis said. “The State of Hawai’i has a strong presence on the OSU campus and this presents another opportunity to strengthen that relationship.”