HATTIESBURG — Southern Miss has accepted an invitation to play in the third annual Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Dec. 21.

“It is a great area with great weather and we have the opportunity to play a quality opponent from the Big East,” Southern Miss coach Larry Fedora said in a statement released by the school. “We are thrilled about being able to play another game.”

The Golden Eagles will face an opponent from the Big East conference game at Tropicana Field, which is home to Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays. The game will be broadcast by ESPN at 7 p.m.

The game will be the ninth consecutive bowl appearance for the Golden Eagles and 13th in the past 14 years.

The Eagles last appeared in a bowl game in Florida in 1981, when they played Missouri in the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando. Southern Miss has an 8-4 record and finished 5-3 in Conference USA. The Golden Eagles lost their three conference games by a combined eight points.