BOISE, Idaho – The Ohio football team has accepted an invitation to play in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, its third straight bowl appearance.

The Bobcats (9-4) will be looking for their first-ever bowl victory when they face the Utah State Aggies (7-5) at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 17 at Bronco Stadium.

“The Ohio University football program is extremely excited for this wonderful opportunity in Boise,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “For the past two years, this has been one of the premier bowl games for the Mid-American Conference. I couldn’t be happier for our team and our 17 seniors, who have given so much to this program.”

It marks the sixth bowl game in the program’s history and the fourth in the past six seasons, but Ohio currently holds an 0-5 mark in bowl games. Combined with the school’s 0-3 record in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game, Ohio is winless in eight total postseason games.

The Bobcats won five straight games before giving up a 20-0 lead in a 23-20 defeat to Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship Game on Saturday.

Utah State won its final five games of the season after getting off to a 2-5 start. It had narrow non-conference losses to Auburn and BYU and finished second in the Western Athletic Conference to Louisiana Tech.

“We’re delighted that Ohio and Utah State will be the matchup in our bowl,” bowl executive director Kevin McDonald said. “Both teams have well-coached, resurgent programs with powerful offenses so the fans are sure to see a competitive and entertaining game on the blue turf in Boise.”

It is the seventh all-time bowl game for the Aggies, who last appeared in a bowl game in 1997 when it played in the same game when it was known as the Humanitarian Bowl, losing 35-19 to Cincinnati. The Aggies are 1-5 all-time in bowl games, with their only win coming against Ball State, 42-33, in the 1993 Las Vegas Bowl.

Ohio lost, 48-21, in the New Orleans Bowl last season against Troy.

“This is a great bowl with a longstanding tradition and we are honored to be a part of the experience,” Ohio athletic director Jim Schaus said. “Having an opportunity to compete in a third straight bowl game is a tremendous step for our football program and we couldn’t be happier.”

Utah State defeated Ohio, 5-0, in the only other all-time meeting between the teams in 1994.

The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl is the second bowl game of the season and is broadcast on ESPN.

This is the second year of the MAC’s affiliation with the bowl. Last season, Northern Illinois routed Fresno State, 40-17.

The MAC received four other bowl invitations: Northern Illinois in the GoDaddy.com Bowl, Western Michigan in the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl, Toledo in the Military Bowl and Temple in the New Mexico Bowl.

Ohiobobcats.com will have travel information regarding the bowl in the upcoming week.