Mountain West Football Bowl Projections After Week 7
Teams are starting to become bowl eligible
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Boise State is first to bowl eligibility
Boise State is undefeated and the first team to six games to become bowl eligibile within the Mountain West. The Broncos are on track as the best Group of 5 team and playing in the Cotton Bowl, and they reached the first step after defeating Hawaii.
One team that might be on the outside looking in could be Fresno State. The Bulldogs have taken a step back and are just 2-3 but they still have four very winnable games against Colorado State, San Jose State, UNLV, and Nevada.
There could be eight bowl eligible teams if Nevada can get to six wins along with Fresno State. The issue could be if there are enough bowl spots for eligible teams.
As for the teams we project that will go bowling it is going to be the same group of last week in Air Force, Boise State, Nevada, Hawaii, Wyoming, San Diego State, Nevada, Hawaii, and Utah State.
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
Cotton Bowl
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
At-large vs. At-large
Projection: Boise State vs. Georgia
Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Branch Field at Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Conference USA vs. Mountain West
Projection: Air Force vs.
Las Vegas Bowl
Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
Mountain West vs. Pac-12
Projection: San Diego State vs. USC
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho
MAC vs. Mountain West
Projection: Utah State vs.
Hawai’i Bowl
Aloha Stadium; Honolulu, Hawaii
BYU or AAC vs. Mountain West
Projection: Hawaii vs. Memphis
NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl
Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona
Sun Belt vs. Mountain West
Projection: Fresno State vs. Georgia State
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Amon G. Carter Stadium; Fort Worth, Texas
Big Ten vs. Mountain West
Projection: Nevada vs. Army
Cheeze-It Bowl
Chase Field; Phoenix, Arizona
Big 12 vs. Pac-12 (or Mountain West)
Projection: Wyoming vs. Stanford
