Swim trunks and suntan lotion might have been in the luggage of ISU football players for the school’s third straight bowl appearance if Iowa State hadn’t lost five of its last six games.

Instead, the Cyclones will be in Boise, Idaho, for a Dec. 31 showdown against No. 18 Boise State in the Humanitarian Bowl.

But there aren’t any sad faces on the team, including linebacker Brandon Brown.

“I don’t like to swim anyway,” Brown said.

It had been all speculation for the last two weeks about where Iowa State would land since a 37-20 loss to Connecticut in the season finale. The possibilities ranged from the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Fla., to the Motor City Bowl in Detroit, Mich.

Kansas State and Texas were left out of a Bowl Championship Series game, bumping every bowl-eligible Big 12 team down a notch in its bowl standing and negating those opportunities for Iowa State.

ISU head coach Dan McCarney said he’s excited for a chance at another bowl game because his team has still exceeded preseason expectations. Boise State will be the sixth ranked team Iowa State will face away from home.

“I think a lot of people in the country, when they looked at our schedule, thought the Eddie Robinson Classic was going to be the only thing close to a bowl game for Iowa State this year,” McCarney said. “But because of the perseverance, the commitment and dedication of these coaches and players, we’re going to a bowl game at the beginning of the season and one at the end, too.”

The Broncos are 11-1 this season and are currently on a 10-game winning streak. They stormed through the Western Athletic Conference with an unblemished record after a loss to Arkansas on Sept. 7.

McCarney said his staff had talked about likely opponents for the last two weeks, but hasn’t actually scouted any of the teams yet, because there were so many possible outcomes. But one thing is for sure — they have heard the statistics about Boise State’s offense.

The Broncos’ high-powered passing attack has them ranked first nationally in scoring offense at 46.6 points per game and in total offense at 516 yards per game.

“Of the bowls we were likely for, this was probably the best team that we were going to be able to play,” defensive lineman Jordan Carstens said.

And a regular season that featured nine teams headed to bowl games in the next few weeks should help give Iowa State a glimpse at what they’ll be seeing against Boise State.

“It won’t be anything new for us,” receiver Jack Whitver said. “We’re used to going to play at Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas State and those types of teams, so it’s another good challenge for us, but that’s why we come to play at Iowa State.”