Mountain West Football Bowl Projections After Week 10
Playoff rankings give us a clue.
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No NY6, yet.
With the release of the College Football Playoff rankings this week, it gives us a hint at where the Mountain West champion could be and for now it is not in a big time bowl game.
Without a team in the Cotton Bowl in the mix, it could hurt the Mountain West which could have as many as eight bowl-eligible teams. A few surprise teams might just have a shot a bowl game and those teams are San Jose State and Colorado State.
Both teams have four wins and the edge has to go to San Jose State as they play Hawaii, Fresno State and UNLV, whereas, Colorado State has its toughest stretch to date by playing Boise State, Air Force and Wyoming. The Rams offense could keep them in games but probably not enough to get the wins they need.
One team that could be on the outside looking in is Utah State and a lot of other projections are leaving the Aggies out but we have faith and will include them this week.
On the bright side, there are more and more bowl games opening up due to lack of eligible teams from power conferences. So, there will be a few new bowl options for the Mountain West and possibly against Power 5 teams.
A few notes about the bowl lineups. Starting with the Hawaii Bowl. The game has a vaguely worded tie-in which is a combination between BYU, Hawaii or an AAC team. The Warriors have a 13-game schedule and must have seven wins to secure a bowl berth.
There is a new bowl this year and it’s a Power Five opponent from the Big Ten in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Overall, the league has six guaranteed bowl berths and is a backup for the Cheez-It Bowl if the Pac-12 or Big 12 does not have enough teams eligible. As always, there can be trades for the best matchups.
Finally, if the Mountain West is the highest-rated team in the College Football Playoff then a New Year’s Six Bowl game is an option at either the Cotton or Orange Bowl.
1. Las Vegas vs. Pac-12
– Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs. MAC
– Gildan New Mexico Bowl vs. Conference USA
– Hawai’i Bowl vs. BYU or American
– NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl vs. Sun Belt
– Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl vs. Big Ten
– Cheez-It Bowl Conditional for MW if bowl can’t fill a spot.
Previous projections: Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9
Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Branch Field at Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Conference USA vs. Mountain West
Projection: San Diego State vs. Florida Atlantic
Las Vegas Bowl
Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
Mountain West vs. Pac-12
Projection: Boise State vs. Washington State
Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl
FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, Florida
MAC vs. American
Projection: Central Michigan vs. Utah State
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho
MAC vs. Mountain West
Projection: Wyoming vs. Ball State
Hawai’i Bowl
Aloha Stadium; Honolulu, Hawaii
BYU or AAC vs. Mountain West
Projection: Hawaii vs. BYU
NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl
Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona
Sun Belt vs. Mountain West
Projection: Fresno State vs. Louisiana
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Amon G. Carter Stadium; Fort Worth, Texas
Big Ten vs. Mountain West
Projection: Nevada vs. Miami (Ohio)
Cheeze-It Bowl
Chase Field; Tempe, Arizona
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Projection: Air Force vs. Iowa State
