Who’s playing in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise? One of the teams beat Notre Dame

The 28th Famous Idaho Potato Bowl is getting a rematch.

Fresno State of the Mountain West and Northern Illinois of the Mid-American Conference will square off at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 23, at Albertsons Stadium. The two teams played for the 2010 then-Humanitarian Bowl title, with the Huskies winning 40-17.

The game will be televised on ESPN.

“We are thrilled to have a rematch of our game in 2010, the Huskies from Northern Illinois University and the Bulldogs from Fresno State,” Potato Bowl executive director Danielle Brazil said in a news release.

“This will mark 28 bowl games on The Blue, and we can’t wait to share this celebration of postseason college football with the best fans in Idaho.”

NIU gained notoriety this season when it defeated then-No. 5 Notre Dame 16-14 on Sept. 7 on Kanon Woodill’s 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds remaining. It was the first win for the Huskies and the MAC over a team ranked in the top five — and it was the Irish’s only loss of the season. They are now in the College Football Playoff.

Northern Illinois closed out the regular season 7-5 overall and 4-4 in the MAC to earn its 13th bowl appearance in the past 17 seasons. The Huskies won three of their last four games and enter the Potato Bowl with one of the top defenses in the country, including ranking fifth in the nation in total defense (281 yards per game) and second in third-down conversion percentage defense (26.45%).

“We are extremely excited to have an opportunity to go to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and play a strong Mountain West opponent in Fresno State,” NIU coach Thomas Hammock said in a news release. “There is no such thing as a bad bowl, and I have heard nothing but great things about Boise and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.”

Fresno State finished fourth in the Mountain West standings this season, going 6-6 overall and 4-3 in conference play. The Bulldogs will be making their fourth straight bowl appearance and 33rd overall.

It will be the final game for interim coach Tim Skipper, who replaced Jeff Tedford before the start of the season because of Tedford’s health issues. Matt Entz was recently named Fresno State’s new head coach, according to The Fresno Bee.

The Potato Bowl will be the sixth meeting between Fresno State and NIU, with the Huskies holding a 3-2 series lead.

Tickets for the game start at $20 and can be purchased through famousidahopotatobowl.com or the Boise State athletic ticket office.