Organizers on Sunday announced the teams that will play in the Holiday Bowl and Poinsettia Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium.
The 11th annual Poinsettia Bowl will bring Boise State to face Northern Illinois on Dec. 23.
Northern Illinois (8-5) won the Mid-American Conference's Western Division but lost to Bowling Green, 34-14, in the conference's championship game Friday, its second consecutive loss following a six-game winning streak.
Boise State (8-4) won five of its first six games, including victories over two schools from Power 5 conferences, Washington and Virginia. The Broncos were 5-3 in Mountain West Conference play, finishing in a four-way tie for second in its six-team Mountain Division.
The matchup is the result of "a lot of dialogue with the conferences" in an attempt to get the best possible matchup, said Mark Neville, executive director of San Diego Bowl Game Association, which operates the Poinsettia Bowl and the Holiday Bowl.
Northern Illinois will be making its third Poinsettia Bowl appearance. The Huskies lost to Texas Christian, 37-7, in 2006 and Utah State, 21-14, in 2013. The Broncos lost to Texas Christian, 17-16, in the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl.
The University of Southern California will face Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 30.
The Holiday Bowl gets the second choice among Pac-12 Conference teams following the New Year's Six games.
The Alamo Bowl selected Oregon and the Holiday Bowl picked USC, even though the Trojans played in the game last year, defeating Nebraska, 45-42. Wisconsin (9-3) will be making its first appearance in the Holiday Bowl, which has been played annually since 1978.
This is the first meeting between the teams since 1966. USC leads the series, 6-0, including a memorable 42-37 victory in the 1963 Rose Bowl Game. The Trojans led 42-17 in the fourth quarter when Ron VanderKelen led the Badgers on three touchdown drives in a comeback that ended when Wisconsin's Louis Holland fumbled away a punt.
