The football team at UNLV will be facing off against North Texas at 12:00 p.m. EST Wednesday.

The unranked UNLV Rebels (7-5) will be playing the unranked North Texas Mean Green (8-4) on the neutral Cotton Bowl stadium in Dallas, TX. The game also serves as the Heart of Dallas Bowl, which is presented by PlainsCapital Bank and has been held annually since 2011. North Texas is the favorite to win among oddsmakers.

UNLV head coach Bobby Hauck recently noted the excitement of playing a New Year's Day bowl game for him and his team.

"When you go forward with the thought that who would have thought that UNLV would be playing in a New Year's Day football game, it's just really, really exciting," said Hauck, who previously took the team at Montana to three FCS championship games before transferring to UNLV. 

"We've had so many milestones we surpassed this year.  UNLV had never had five Mountain West Conference wins before," Hauck said. "First bowl game since 2000.  We've had about three winning seasons before this one in the last 30 years, and now we're playing in a New Year's Day bowl game."

While North Texas has won six of their last seven games, UNLV has only won three of their last six games in the NCAA.

The UNLV Rebels vs. North Texas Mean Green Heart of Dallas Bowl will be broadcast live on ESPNU at 12:00 p.m. EST and can be viewed through live streaming online here.

Tags: Heart of Dallas Bowl NCAA Football UNLV North Texas