For the first time in history, the New Mexico Bowl kicked off in the Lone Star State. A festive contest between red and green teams broke out on Christmas Eve in Frisco, TX — a suburb in the Dallas metroplex.
But Hawaii (5-4, 4-4 Mountain West) unwrapped the early Christmas gift, besting Houston 28-14 in the Rainbow Warriors’ first bowl game in the contiguous United States in 13 years. Houston (3-5, 3-3 AAC) continued its recent trend of bowl struggles, losing its fourth consecutive postseason contest dating back to Major Applewhite’s head coaching debut in the 2016 Las Vegas Bowl.