Bowl Game News: A Cal Bowl Rematch on the Blue Turf

EMU vs. San Jose State is this year's Potato Bowl matchup.

It’s Eastern Michigan’s best season since its Cal Bowl-winning year in 1987 against San Jose State.

What better time for a rematch than now, 35 years later?

On Selection Sunday, it was announced that EMU and San Jose State would meet up in Boise to play in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Brett McMurphy of Action Network was first to report.

The game will be on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 3:30 p.m. ET — 1:30 p.m. local.

Brett McMurphy @Brett_McMurphy

San Jose State vs. Eastern Michigan in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ All my live updates ⬇️

actionnetwork.comCollege Football Bowl Game Tracker | Updates for All Confirmed MatchupsFind Brett McMurphy’s final 2022 college football bowl game projections, plus real-time updates as bowl game matchups are announced.

EMU, which missed out on a MAC title game this year due to a head-to-head tiebreaker with Toledo, finished the season with an 8-4 overall record, 5-3 in MAC play. This is the fifth bowl game EMU will go to over the last seven seasons after zero bowl games since the ‘87 Cal Bowl.

The Cal Bowl is the only previous meeting between the two programs, and it’s also the only bowl victory in EMU’s history.

San Jose State (7-4, 5-3 Mountain West) has an all-time bowl record of 5-4 and last appeared in a bowl game in 2020 when it lost 34-13 to Ball State, the MAC Champions of the Covid season. SJSU head coach Brett Brennan has been there for six seasons and this is the team’s second trip to a bowl game.

Other MAC bowl games announced:

• Arizona: Ohio vs. Wyoming

• Bahamas: Miami vs. UAB

• Boca Raton: Toledo vs. Liberty

• Camellia: Buffalo vs. Georgia Southern

• Quick Lane: Bowling Green vs. New Mexico State