Fresno State has five players from the Houston area on its roster, gearing up for a shot at the hometown team in the Hawaii Bowl.
They will face guys they played with and against while growing up, from Pop Warner to high school or junior college.
For some of these Bulldogs, though, the matchup against Houston holds no special attraction outside of a chance to win a 10th game this season.
Fresno State defensive end Tobenna Okeke grew up in Missouri City, Texas, which is a few minutes outside of Houston and not far away from, of all places, Fresno, an unincorporated area just to the south and east.