Mississippi State will play in a bowl game for the sixth consecutive season, Southern Miss is back in one for the first time in four, and Alcorn State will help christen a brand new game.

All three Mississippi schools accepted or earned postseason invitations over the weekend and will get one more chance to play before wrapping up the season.

Mississippi State on Sunday accepted an invitation to play North Carolina State in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., on Dec. 30. Kickoff for the game is at 2:30 p.m.

It’s the sixth consecutive season that Mississippi State (8-4) has played in a bowl, but its first appearance in the Belk Bowl.

It’s the first time the Bulldogs have played North Carolina State (7-5) since the 1995 Peach Bowl, although the two teams have scheduled games in 2020 and 2021.

“This is a great opportunity for our team and our fans to cap off the 2015 season at the Belk Bowl in Charlotte for the first time,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said. “This senior class is the second-winningest in school history and they have been to a bowl game every year. We want to send them out the right way for everything they have done for our program.”

Southern Miss (9-4) lost in the Conference USA championship game on Saturday, but still earned a bowl invite. It’ll face Washington (6-6) in the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl on Dec. 26.

It’s the first bowl appearance for Southern Miss since the 2011 Hawaii Bowl. The Golden Eagles had three consecutive losing seasons before bouncing back this year.

The Heart of Dallas Bowl is played at the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium and will be broadcast on ESPN. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:20 p.m.

“I’m excited for our players, our coaches and our fans,” said Southern Miss coach Todd Monken. “It’s been a lot of hard work in the making, getting to this point, and it is a credit to them. We put ourselves in a position to win Conference USA and came up a little bit short, but the future is bright.”

This will be Southern Miss’ first game against a Pac-12 opponent since 2004, and just its third ever. California and USM played a home-and-home series in 2003-04.

“Opportunities to play against High Resource Five conference opponents — especially those in the Pac-12 — are rare and we’re very fortunate to have this one against the Huskies,” USM athletic director Bill McGillis said.

Alcorn State, meanwhile, earned an automatic bid to the inaugural Celebration Bowl in Atlanta by beating Grambling 49-21 in Saturday’s Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game.

Alcorn (9-3) will face North Carolina A&T (9-2), the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference co-champion, in the Georgia Dome on Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. It’s the first meeting between the teams since 2004.

The Celebration Bowl features the champions of the nation’s two major historically black college conferences, and is the only bowl featuring teams from the Football Championship Subdivision. Most top teams participate in the FCS playoffs, but the SWAC and MEAC do not.

LSU (8-3) received an invitation to the Advocare Texas Bowl in Houston, where it’ll play Texas Tech (7-5) Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. It’s the first time LSU and Texas Tech have played each other since 1957.

Mississippi bowl games

Celebration Bowl – Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T, at Atlanta, Dec. 19 at 11 a.m.

Heart of Dallas Bowl – Southern Miss vs. Washington, at Dallas, Dec. 26 at 1:20 p.m.

Belk Bowl – Mississippi State vs. North Carolina State, at Charlotte, Dec. 30 at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN