Wyoming coach Dana Dimel doesn't hide his frustration with the sometimes-puzzling bowl system.
"I think it's absolutely a shame that this conference, with the quality of football teams that we have, is only going to have two teams go to bowl games," Dimel said. "It will be fantastic for those two ballclubs, but it will be a dirty shame for the other three that are very deserving to go that aren't going to get the opportunity."While Dimel's Cowboys and four other bowl-eligible Mountain West Conference teams compete for a paltry two postseason invitations, the Pac-10 is guaranteed to send five teams to bowl games, including the prestigious Rose Bowl.
The scenario is understandably anguishing for the Mountain West, which is 4-1 against the Pac-10 this season and has an equal number of teams that qualify for bowl games.
"I look at all those teams from the Pac-10, and I think the champion from the Pac-10 would struggle to finish above .500 in our conference and probably wouldn't," Dimel said. "Then you look at the Big East and the same is true there. You go to the ACC, and the same is true."
In its first season, the Mountain West has contract agreements with the Liberty and Las Vegas bowls, and commissioner Craig Thompson is holding out hope for additional invitations.
"We need to have some things happen," Thompson said. "We need some help. There may be an opening or two. . . . There's interest. I'm not saying that they're committed or ready to go, but we have people interested."
In addition to keeping in touch with officials from the Insight.com and Independence bowls, Thompson surfs the Internet and watches the national scoreboard to weigh possibilities for his conference.
"Although it's anguishing and nerve-wracking to track and follow this depending on who wins and who loses in other leagues, I think there are some opportunities," Thompson said.
No. 19 Brigham Young, the most marketable Mountain West team, can clinch the conference title and the Liberty Bowl berth Saturday with a victory over rival Utah. The conference's bowl future becomes fuzzy if the Cougars (8-2, 5-1) falter for the second straight week.
Utah (7-3, 4-2) would gain a share of the Mountain West title by beating BYU. A Utes victory also would keep Wyoming (6-3, 3-2) and Colorado State (6-3, 3-2) in contention to be co-champions.
Colorado State could be eliminated from the race as early as tonight at home against Air Force (6-3, 2-3), which has won seven of the last eight games at Hughes Stadium.
"If we don't win, there probably isn't much (bowl) hope left," CSU coach Sonny Lubick said. "If we continue to win, we'll leave it up to the experts to figure it out."
In the case of a four-way tie, officials from the Liberty Bowl and Las Vegas Bowl can select the two teams they want. The other teams would be left in limbo because of a complicated system that matches conferences with bowl sites.
Thompson ultimately hopes to broker a future spot in the Bowl Championship Series that determines the most lucrative bowl bids. For now, Mountain West teams are just hoping to draw interest from peripheral bowls seeking to fill seats.
"It really upsets me because some people are not going to get to go that deserve to go," Utah coach Ron McBride said.
McBride also lamented the effect a bowl snub has on recruiting.
"It's a problem," he said. "You say you're 7-4 or 8-3, and (recruits say), 'Oh yeah, well what bowl game did you go to?' I don't know. It's just beyond me."
NOTES: BYU coach LaVell Edwards is 21-6 against Utah, but four of those losses have come in the last six years. . . . Wyoming faces New Mexico (3-6, 2-3) at home Saturday. The Cowboys have won eight of nine against the Lobos. . . . San Diego State coach Ted Tollner and UNLV coach John Robinson face each other this weekend. Both have led Southern California to Rose Bowl titles, Tollner in 1984 and Robinson in '76, '78, '79 and '95. . . . Air Force moved ahead of Army for the national rushing lead (292 yards per game). . . . Colorado State is 16-2 in November games under Lubick. . . . San Diego State has committed 22 turnovers in its six losses and just one in its three victories. . . . UNLV has lost 10 straight home games. . . . Utah's Steve Smith leads the nation in punt return average (20 yards per return), while CSU's Dallas Davis is fifth (16.5).