Illinois To Play La Tech In Heart Of Dallas Bowl

(AP) -- Illinois will face Louisiana Tech in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on Dec. 26.

Illinois beat Penn State and Northwestern to close the season at 6-6. The Illini's defense forced five turnovers in beating the Wildcats 47-33 on the road.

Louisiana Tech (8-5) lost to Marshall 26-23 on Saturday in the Conference USA title game. The Bulldogs had won seven of their last eight games prior to that loss to the Thundering Herd.

The Bulldogs are led by quarterback Cody Sokol, the Iowa transfer who has thrown 29 TD passes, and running back Kenneth Dixon. He has rushed for 1,236 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.