PULLMAN, Wash.  (Dec. 8, 2024) -- The Washington State University Cougars accepted an invitation to play in the 2024 DirecTV Holiday Bowl, Saturday, Dec. 27, at 5 p.m. PT, Holiday Bowl Executive Director Mark Neville announced Sunday.
 
The 2024 DirecTV Holiday Bowl will feature the Cougars against No. 21 Syracuse (9-3, 5-3 ACC) from the Atlantic Coast Conference. This will mark the second meeting between the two teams, the first being a 52-25 Syracuse win in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1979.
 
"Washington State is excited to accept an invitation to the 2024 DirecTV Holiday Bowl," said WSU Director of Athletics Anne McCoy. "To participate in one of the premier bowl games, in a region where many of our fans can attend, will provide a memorable experience for our players, coaches and alumni."
 
In 2024, Head Coach Jake Dickert guided WSU to an 8-4 regular-season record. The Cougars opened the season with four-straight victories, including wins over Texas Tech and Washington. Dickert mentored redshirt-sophomore quarterback John Mateer to a record-breaking as Mateer set schools records for rushing yards and touchdowns in a season, while also leading the nation in touchdowns accounted for. The bowl selection marks the eighth bowl game in the last nine years for WSU and 11th in 13 seasons.
 
This year marks WSU's fifth appearance in the Holiday Bowl dating back to 1981. In that first meeting, the Cougars fell to BYU in WSU's first bowl game in 50 years. The next appearance came in 2003 when WSU capped its third-straight, 10-win season with a 28-20 victory over No. 5 Texas. Back-to-back appearances in 2016 and 2017, against Big Ten foes Minnesota and Michigan State, respectively, represent the last two trips to the Holiday Bowl.
 
The 2024 DirecTV Holiday Bowl marks the 19th overall bowl game for the Cougar Football program.  In 2022, the Cougars faced Fresno State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl, WSU's seventh-straight bowl game appearance. The previous year, the Cougars dropped a close contest to Central Michigan at the 2021 Sun Bowl while in 2019, WSU fell short against Air Force at the Cheez-It Bowl in Phoenix, Ariz. In 2018, the Cougars came away with a 28-26 victory over No. 25 Iowa State in the Valero Alamo Bowl, en route to a program-record 11-win season and a No. 10 final ranking.
 
Previously WSU has played in the Rose Bowl (1916, 1931, 1998, 2003), the Holiday Bowl (1981, 2003, 2016, 2017), the Aloha Bowl (1988), the Copper Bowl (1992), the Alamo Bowl (1994, 2018), the Sun Bowl (2001, 2015)  and the 2013 New Mexico Bowl. The Cougars are 8-10 in bowl games all time.
 
"We are honored to have earned the right to play in the 2024 Holiday Bowl against one of the best teams in the country," said WSU Head Coach Jake Dickert. "To have one more opportunity to send our senior class out the right way means a lot to this team. We can't wait to see Cougar Nation in San Diego cheering on the Cougs."
 
Tickets for the 2024 DirecTV Holiday Bowl may be ordered through wsucougars.com. Fans may also call the Cougar Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-COUGS starting at 9 a.m., Monday morning. More information is also available at https://www.holidaybowl.com.
 
The 2024 DIRECTV Holiday Bowl will be televised live nationally by FOX at 5 p.m. from Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Calif.