Based on conference tie-ins, the game usually features teams from the
Mid-American Conference and the
Sun Belt Conference; however, the matchup for this edition features a team from
Conference USA. This will be the thirteenth meeting between Rice and Southern Miss, with the all-time series currently tied at six wins each.[6] From 2005 to 2021, the Owls and Golden Eagles played together as members of Conference USA.[7]
This will be the Owls' first LendingTree Bowl, as well as their first bowl game appearance since the
2014 Hawaii Bowl, where
they defeated
Fresno State by a score of 30–6.[8] The Golden Eagles will make their third appearance in the LendingTree Bowl, though their first under its current name; they defeated
TCU in the
2000 Mobile Alabama Bowl[9] and beat
Ohio in the
2007 GMAC Bowl.[10] Their last bowl game appearance came in
2019, when they played
Tulane in the
Armed Forces Bowl.[11]
The Rice Owls, representing
Conference USA (C–USA), began
Mike Bloomgren's fifth year as head coach with a road trip to
Los Angeles and a game at No. 14
USC, which resulted in a 52-point loss.[12] They defeated
FCSMcNeese State by 42 points in their home opener[13] and followed that up with an 11-point defeat of
Louisiana the next weekend.[14] They were defeated by crosstown
rivalsHouston by a touchdown to conclude their non-conference schedule,[15] and began C–USA play on October 1 with a home victory against
UAB.[16] The Owls' first conference loss came following a
bye week, as they traveled to play
Florida Atlantic and fell by three points.[17] A one-point
overtime win over
Louisiana Tech[18] and a poor showing against
Charlotte, resulting in a 33-point loss, took Rice into November with a 4–4 record.[19] After beating
UTEP at home by virtue of a late-game touchdown,[20] the Owls traveled to face
Western Kentucky, to whom they lost by five touchdowns.[21] Rice suffered a similar result in their final home game, against
UTSA, which they lost by 41 points.[22] Their last regular-season game played out to a four-point defeat to
North Texas, a game that sent the Mean Green to the
conference championship game.[23]
Rice finished their regular season with an overall record of 5–7 and a 3–5 mark in conference play. Under normal circumstances, this means that Rice would not be
eligible for a bowl; however, due to an insufficient number of standard bowl-eligible teams,
Academic Progress Rate (APR) is used as a tiebreaker.[24] Rice, having the highest APR among 5–7 teams, became bowl eligible and accepted their bid to the LendingTree Bowl on December 4.[25]
The Southern Miss Golden Eagles, previously members of Conference USA, represented the
Sun Belt Conference for the first time effective July 1, 2022.[27] Their second season under head coach
Will Hall began with a home game against
Liberty, which went to four
overtimes before the Flames earned a two-point victory.[28] A second loss followed as the Golden Eagles were bested by No. 15
Miami (FL), 30–7.[29] They earned their first win of the season with a dominant showing against
FCSNorthwestern State,[30] and defeated
Tulane on the road with the help of a fourth quarter
pick-six the next week.[31] After a bye week, Southern Miss traveled to
Troy, losing by 17 points,[32] before returning for homecoming and beating
Arkansas State by one point.[33] This was the start of a three-game winning streak that went through the end of October and included further victories over
Texas State, by six points,[34] and
Louisiana, by fifteen.[35] November started much worse for the Golden Eagles, however, as they dropped a home game to
Georgia State[36] before a road trip to
Coastal Carolina ended in a three-point loss.[37] Southern Miss's losing skid extended to three games as they faltered in their home finale against
South Alabama.[38] Needing a win in their final game against
Louisiana–Monroe to achieve
bowl eligibility, the Golden Eagles defeated the Warhawks by ten points to finish the regular season with an overall record of 6–6 and a Sun Belt record of 4–4.[39]
Game summary
The game's officiating crew, representing the
Mid-American Conference, was led by referee David Siegle and umpire Ryan McClellan.[2]