Mountain West Football Bowl Projections After Week 14
Final week of the regular season does not change much.
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Seven teams will go bowling.
The Mountain West will have all seven teams going to the postseason, no questions. There are going to be more bowl-eligible teams than bowl teams but with each Mountain West team having at least seven wins means that the teams will be safe to assume a postseason berth is on the way.
The big question is if the Mountain West can get into the Cotton Bowl. Boise State is in prime position to if they beat Hawaii in the championship game next weekend.
However, the Broncos will need some help. Memphis is in the front runner seat and if they defeat Cincinnati — the second time in as many weeks — the Tigers are going to the Cotton Bowl but if it is the Bearcats then the Broncos should go to that game. We say should because it depends on where the College Football Playoff committee ranks both Memphis and Cincinnati in the next set of rankings. It is somewhat safe to assume that a one-loss Boise State team should get in over a two-loss Bearcats team.
If Boise State goes to the Cotton Bowl it would shake up who goes where and could provide for a few better matchups with every team moving up a spot in the bowl pecking order.
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. Technically, BYU takes the Mountain West spot but a Cougars vs. Warriors matchup would be a classic WAC rivalry renewal.
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 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13
Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Branch Field at Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Conference USA vs. Mountain West
Projection: San Diego State vs. Southern Miss
Las Vegas Bowl
Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
Mountain West vs. Pac-12
Projection: Boise State vs. Cal
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho
MAC vs. Mountain West
Projection: Utah State vs. Buffalo
Hawaii Bowl
Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
BYU or AAC vs. Mountain West
Projection: Hawaii vs. BYU (Accepted invite)
NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl
Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona
Sun Belt vs. Mountain West
Projection: Nevada vs. Georgia Southern
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Amon G. Carter Stadium; Fort Worth, Texas
Big Ten vs. Mountain West
Projection: Wyoming vs. Florida International (Not enough Big Ten teams)
Cheeze-It Bowl
Chase Field; Tempe, Arizona
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Projection: Air Force vs. Kansas State (Not enough Pac-12 teams)
