Bowl season is nearly upon us, and for all three FBS schools in Utah, the postseason is in the cards.
Utah State is bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive season. What postseason options are available for Utah State in 2014?
The Mountain West Conference has six bowl tie-ins, with the Las Vegas Bowl, Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Hawaii Bowl, New Mexico Bowl, New Orleans Bowl and Poinsettia Bowl. The league has seven bowl eligible teams this season.
Boise State could be headed to a College Football Playoff New Year’s Six bowl, as the highest ranked team from a non-power 5 conference. The Broncos face Fresno State in the MWC championship game on Saturday, and if Boise State wins, it’s in line to earn a spot in one of the high-profile bowls. That would allow other MWC teams to move up in the pecking order.
The Las Vegas Bowl has the first option to select a Mountain West team, then the league will work with the other bowls to determine bowl bids.
To help figure out possible bowl destinations for Mountain West Conference teams, we've looked at the latest bowl projections from several different national media outlets, including Fox Sports, ESPN (with Mark Schlabach and Brett McMurphy), CBS Sports, Sporting News, Phil Steele and Sports Illustrated.
Here is a breakdown of what could happen for Utah State and the MWC when bowl destinations are determined this weekend.
Las Vegas Bowl
When: Dec. 20; Where: Sam Boyd Stadium (Las Vegas)
Who: MWC No. 1 vs. Pac-12 No. 6
Possibilities: Colorado State (10-2) is the clear front-runner right now to represent the MWC in Las Vegas. The Rams were ranked and in line to reach the conference championship game until Air Force beat them last week. If Boise State lost to Fresno State, the Broncos would be a strong candidate for this bowl.
Things appear to be a bit more fluid on the Pac-12 side, as teams such as Utah (8-4), Arizona State (9-3), Stanford (7-5), Washington (8-5) and perhaps even USC (8-4) could be available. Several national pundits had the Cardinal headed to Vegas, but on Wednesday Associated Press writer Antonio Gonzalez reported Stanford is likely headed to the Foster Farms Bowl.
While it appears to be a long shot, an intriguing option for the state of Utah would be for Utah State and Utah to meet in the Las Vegas Bowl. The rivals last played in 2013.
New Orleans Bowl
When: Dec. 20; Where: Superdome (New Orleans)
Who: MWC vs. Sun Belt
Possibilities: Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4) of the Sun Belt Conference has officially accepted an invite to play in the New Orleans Bowl. Most national pundits don't believe an MWC team will fill this bowl spot — Sports Illustrated is the only one of the seven bowl projections to have an MWC team, Fresno State (6-6), playing in this bowl. Among the possible replacement teams projected for New Orleans are Florida (6-5), Illinois (6-6) and Pittsburgh (6-6).
New Mexico Bowl
When: Dec. 20; Where: University Stadium (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Who: MWC vs. Conference USA
Possibilities: The El Paso Times reported that C-USA's UTEP (7-5) is likely headed to the New Mexico Bowl, and six of the seven projections agree. Utah State is an option here for the Mountain West, and ESPN’s McMurphy, CBS Sports, Phil Steele and Sports Illustrated believe the Aggies will be bound for Albuquerque. An intriguing matchup could be Sports Illustrated’s projection: Utah State vs. Louisiana Tech (8-4). The Aggies beat the Bulldogs in overtime in 2012 en route to earning the WAC title, then went on win the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl that year. Other MWC teams projected for the New Mexico Bowl include Air Force, San Diego State and Nevada.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
When: Dec. 20; Where: Albertsons Stadium (Boise)
Who: MWC vs. MAC
Possibilities: Six of the seven bowl projections have Nevada (7-5) representing the MWC in Boise. Utah State played here in 2011 and 2012, going 1-1. That recent history could lead the Potato Bowl to steer clear of the Aggies. Among the favored teams projected to represent the MAC in the bowl are Toledo (8-4) and Bowling Green (7-5), with Western Michigan (8-4) and Central Michigan (7-5) other possibilities.
Poinsettia Bowl
When: Dec. 23; Where: Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego)
Who: MWC vs. Navy
Possibilities: Navy (6-5) has already accepted a bid to the Poinsettia Bowl. The Midshipmen finish their regular season against Army on Dec. 13. The Aggies played, and won, here last year, which could lessen the chance Utah State makes a return trip. The overwhelming sentiment is that hometown San Diego State (7-5) will earn the MWC bid.
Hawaii Bowl
When: Dec. 24; Where: Aloha Stadium (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Who: MWC vs. Conference USA
Possibilities: Fresno State is a favorite of projectors to earn the trip to Hawaii, as six of the national media outlets have the Bulldogs getting this bowl bid. Among those from C-USA that have warranted projections for the Hawaii Bowl are Rice (7-5) — four of the national media outlets believe the Owls are headed to Hawaii — Western Kentucky (7-5), Middle Tennessee (6-6) and UTEP.
Other possibilities:
— The Cactus Bowl, which pits the Pac-12 against the Big 12, may have an opening. While the Pac-12 is expected to have a representative, there is a chance the Big 12, with TCU and Baylor in the top six of the latest College Football Playoff rankings, may not be able to fill this spot. The league has six bowl-eligible teams, and Oklahoma State could become bowl eligible this weekend. ESPN's Schlabach predicted Utah State could fill the potentially vacant Big 12 spot in the Tempe, Arizona-based bowl.
— The Denver Post reported that the Armed Forces Bowl would prefer to invite Air Force, especially since Army, which had a tie-in to the bowl, will not become eligible for the postseason. "We'd be thrilled and honored to be able to invite the Air Force Academy," a spokesman for the bowl told the Post. "We have significant interest in having a service-academy team play in our game."
Email: bjudd@deseretnews.com; Twitter: @brandonljudd