Mountain West changes rule that benefited Boise State football last year

Outside of most Boise State football supporters, the Mountain West’s football championship host criteria was widely criticized last year.

On Monday, the conference decided to change that criteria — and it would have changed who hosted the title game last December.

The host will be the divisional champion with the best conference winning percentage. If the division champions are tied, the site will then be based on head-to-head record, but if the West and Mountain’s best haven’t played, it will depend on College Football Playoff or computer rankings. Check out all the tiebreaker scenarios here.

Boise State and Fresno State played Nov. 25 last year in Fresno, which the Bulldogs won 28-17. That left both with 7-1 Mountain West records. The previous criteria then relied on computer rankings, and Boise State was ranked higher, therefore allowing the Broncos to host the championship game. Boise State won the rematch a week later, 17-14. If that happened this year, Fresno State would have hosted.

“We had a very unique set of circumstances last December with the two divisional champions playing on the final weekend of the regular season,” deputy commissioner Bret Gilliland said. “That prompted a review of the formula and a shift to place a priority on head-to-head competition, while maintaining strategic positioning for the Mountain West champion to serve as the Group of Five representative to the College Football Playoff structure.”

The Mountain West Football Media Summit will be held in Las Vegas on Tuesday and Wednesday. The preseason polls and all-conference team will be released Tuesday morning.

This story was originally published July 23, 2018 at 12:01 PM.