Boise State football expected to face Oregon in Las Vegas Bowl
UPDATE:
Washington landed at No. 11 in the College Football Playoff’s final rankings, guaranteeing the Pac-12 a second spot in the New Year’s Six bowls. That slots Oregon (7-5) into the Las Vegas Bowl against Boise State.
The matchup was officially announced Sunday afternoon.
Oregon is 6-1 when quarterback Justin Herbert plays. He returned from injury for the last two games of the regular season and the Ducks beat Arizona and Oregon State by a combined score of 117-38.
Our updated projections:
Mountain West
Las Vegas (Dec. 16): Boise State vs. Oregon
New Mexico (Dec. 16): Colorado State vs. Florida International
Famous Idaho Potato (Dec. 22): Wyoming vs. Central Michigan
Hawaii (Dec. 24): Fresno State vs. Houston
Foster Farms (Dec. 27): San Diego State vs. Arizona
Arizona (Dec. 29): Utah State vs. New Mexico State
New Year’s Six
Rose (Jan. 1, CFP semi): No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Georgia
Sugar (Jan. 1, CFP semi): No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Alabama
Peach (Jan. 1): Washington vs. UCF
Orange (Dec. 30): Miami (Fla.) vs. Ohio State
Fiesta (Dec. 30): USC vs. Wisconsin
Cotton (Dec. 29): Auburn vs. Penn State
• • •
Boise State football fans could get one of their favorite matchups in two weeks in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Organizers expect to invite Boise State on Sunday afternoon and are hopeful they’ll land Oregon from the Pac-12. The Broncos and Ducks played two memorable games in 2008-09 but haven’t played since.
Boise State all but secured the Mountain West’s spot in Las Vegas by beating Fresno State 17-14 in the conference championship game Saturday night at Albertsons Stadium. The Las Vegas Bowl planned to invite the winner but can’t make an official selection until after the College Football Playoff rankings are finalized.
“We’ve talked to both teams ... that it’s our full intention to take the winner of this game,” Las Vegas Bowl Executive Director John Saccenti said before kickoff.
The opponent likely will be Oregon (7-5), assuming the conference gets two teams (USC and Washington) into the New Year’s Six bowls. If that doesn’t happen, the opponent likely will be Arizona (7-5). The bowl is Dec. 16.
[More game coverage: Broncos end 1,091-day title drought; Analysis: Players seize championship-deciding moments; Vander Esch turns in monster performance]
“Boise certainly has a recognizable name,” Saccenti said. “... It’s a very attractive team for especially our local folks. I’m confident to say if it is Boise, we’ll have eyeballs on TV and we’ll have fans in the stadium and hopefully a great game on the field. With both those teams that are in the mix, I’d expect us to have a good matchup, too.”
Fresno State is expected to go to the Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl, reportedly against Houston (7-4) of the American.
The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl’s likely matchup is Wyoming (7-5) vs. Central Michigan (8-4).
Notes
The Hammer carrier before Saturday’s game was, well, everyone. The entire team ran out, each player with his own. On Nov. 18 in the last home game, five offensive linemen carried them instead of the usual lone carrier. … The honorary captain for the game was senior wide receiver/snapper Brock Barr. … The attendance was 24,515, worst for a Boise State home game since November 2003 vs. UTEP. The 2014 championship game in Boise drew 26,101.
This story was originally published December 2, 2017 at 9:32 PM with the headline "Boise State football expected to face Oregon in Las Vegas Bowl."