The 8-4 Washington State Cougars face 9-3 Syracuse on Friday in the 45th edition of the Holiday Bowl. The Holiday Bowl has been held in San Diego, California since 1978 and will be played at Snapdragon Stadium for the first time this year.

Although both Washington State and Syracuse have had football programs for at least 130 years, Friday’s game will be only the second meeting between the two teams. The last game between the two teams was in 1979, when Syracuse won 52-25.

Syracuse enters the game ranked No. 22 in the AP Top 25 poll and is riding a three-game winning streak. Washington State enters the game with significantly less momentum after losing its last three games.

The Orange will play their 29th bowl game on Friday, but will make their first Holiday Bowl appearance.

Syracuse first appeared in a bowl game in 1953 when they lost to Alabama in the Orange Bowl. The team lost its first three bowl games and six of its first nine bowl games. Their first bowl game victory came against Texas in 1959, the same year they won their only national championship.

The Orange have played in three straight bowl games but have lost each of the last two. They will look to correct course with a win over Washington State.

Washington State first participated in a bowl game in 1915 when they participated in the second edition of the historic Rose Bowl. They have played in the Rose Bowl four times throughout their history.

The Cougars also appeared in the Holiday Bowl four times. They first appeared in 1981, the fourth installment of the Holiday Bowl, and most recently in 2017.

Washington State enjoyed its longest streak of bowl games under late coach Mike Leach, who led the Cougars to five straight Holiday Bowls from 2015 to 2019. Washington State went 0-2 in the Holiday Bowl and 2-4 in overall bowl games under Leach.

The Orange have the advantage over the Cougars in bowl game record.