The Fresno State Bulldogs are hoping to receive the gift of a postseason victory when they take on the Houston Cougars in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve. The Bulldogs are listed as a 2.5-point underdogs in that matchup, which ends a string of eight games in five days between Wednesday and Sunday leading up to a brief break on Christmas.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Fresno State (9-4) has lost in its previous six bowl appearances both straight up and against the spread, last winning the Humanitarian Bowl under former head coach Pat Hill in 2007. Meanwhile, Houston (7-4) won two straight before falling to the San Diego State Aztecs last year in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Cougars have gone 4-11 SU in their past 15 games during the month of December, but they have not dropped two bowls in a row since an eight-game skid that started in 1981 and continued through 2007.

Prior to the Hawaii Bowl, the SMU Mustangs (7-5) will kick off mid-week action on Wednesday against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (6-6) in the Frisco Bowl. The Mustangs are 4-point favorites despite failing to cover six of their last seven games. Louisiana Tech has won three of the past four meetings with SMU SU and ATS.