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In what appears to be a last-minute switch with the Armed Services Bowl, the Washington Huskies have accepted an invite to play the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (9-4) in the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl. The game will be played on December 26th in Dallas, Texas. This will be the first appearance in this bowl for both teams. This will be the 6th bowl game the Huskies have played in the state of Texas.
Last summer if you had asked most analysts and a few objective fans about the prospects for the 2015 Washington Huskies, many would have forecast a struggle to reach bowl eligibility. Here's a look back on some "way too early" projections included predictions ranging from four to six wins:
The presence of a true freshman starting quarterback, accompanied by the emergence of freshmen as starters at Left Tackle and Running Back over the course of the season, did little to assuage fan fears about this being a rebuilding year for Chris Petersen and the Washington Huskies.
Washington's defense, however, flashed early in the season and gave fans hope that UW might be able to find more than the prerequisite six wins required to reach bowl eligibility. That defense did, in fact, keep UW in enough games to give them a chance to win and carried them to a big upset victory over USC in Los Angeles. However, it wasn't until UW's offense found its momentum - particularly in wins against Arizona, Oregon State, and WSU - that UW was able to make the charge to reach bowl eligibility.
This year will mark UW's 36th appearance in a post-season bowl game. It is also their sixth straight bowl appearance after having endured a stretch of eight straight years (2002-2010) of no post-season appearances. The Huskies carry a 17-17-1 all-time post-season record.
We'll have more insight, analysis, and projections for the Armed Forces Bowl over the next few weeks. In the meantime, let us know how you feel about UW's bowl selection in the comments thread below.