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The Utah Utes learned the bowl destination today. They will take on the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on December 26, 2017. The two teams have only met once previously in the 1964 Liberty Bowl. Utah won that game 32-6 in the first major college football game played indoors. The Heart of Dallas Bowl will not be played indoors however. The game is played at the Cotton Bowl. West Virginia is sitting at 7-5 on the season and in fourth place in the Big XII.
The Utes are going bowling!
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) December 3, 2017
We have accepted an invitation to play in the @HODBowl on December 26th, playing against West Virginia.#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/nzI3SndepT
The Pac-12 Conference, even with two teams in New Years Six bowl games, had more bowl eligible teams than conference affiliated bowl slots available, meaning the Utes are in via taking a spot normally reserved for a Conference USA team. This is not the first time a Pac-12 team has played in the Heart of Dallas bowl. In 2015, the Washington Huskies, filling the Big XII spot, won 44-31 over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.