Boise State’s bowl destination hazy after Mountain West championship game loss

UPDATE: Boise State’s bowl destination was announced Sunday. Details here.

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Only one scenario going into Saturday’s Mountain West championship game would have left Boise State without a clue where it would go bowling. And that exact situation occurred.

With UCF’s win over Memphis in the American conference championship, the Fiesta Bowl was off the table. Win, and Boise State was going to the Las Vegas Bowl. Lose, and uncertainty reigns.

The Broncos’ 19-16 overtime loss to Fresno State opened up all sorts of possibilities, from bowl games in Texas to even staying home and playing in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

“I haven’t really thought about the bowl games,” Boise State coach Bryan Harsin said. “... We get one more shot to go out and play and hopefully we can finish on a high note. Our guys deserve to do that.”

[Related: Boise State falls short in title game; Instant Analysis: Special teams doom Broncos; scoring summary]

Harsin said he wasn’t aware the Potato Bowl was an option — the Broncos haven’t played in the game since 2005, but Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson said Friday he wants to pair the Mountain West’s three double-digit win teams with good opponents. Buffalo (10-3) from the MAC would fit the bill for Boise State or Utah State (10-2).

Thompson also said he doesn’t expect a Mountain West team to fill a spot in the Cheez-It Bowl (formerly Cactus) on Dec. 26, but was open to finding a spot in a non-Mountain West bowl for a team. He mentioned that he likes the Dallas-area bowl games, and the Frisco Bowl (Dec. 19) and Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 22) may be options.

The Frisco Bowl has an opening for an at-large team to face a team from the American, while the Armed Forces Bowl pits a Big 12 team against the American. However, the American has six teams for seven bowls with UCF in the Fiesta, and the Big 12 will not be able to fill its seventh bowl in the pecking order if Oklahoma is in the College Football Playoff.

In that case, the Armed Forces Bowl could land Army (10-2) for a second straight year, and pit the triple-option squad against a Boise State or Utah State if that is the bowl the American leaves open.

Hightower back; Tyler out

Boise State junior wide receiver John Hightower played Saturday night after having missed the previous three games. He had one catch for 8 yards in the loss, narrowly missing a long catch in the fourth quarter with the score tied 13-13.

Junior safety Evan Tyler, however, missed the game after starting the previous game against Utah State. Junior safety Kekoa Nawahine, the regular starter at the spot where Tyler played, missed the Utah State game but returned and had four tackles.

Wide receiver Octavius Evans also did not play, continuing his season-long injury battle. He has not played since Oct. 19. And wide receiver Khalil Shakir, who scored the game-winning touchdown against Fresno State three weeks ago, remained out, too. He hasn’t played since the first Fresno State game.

Attendance lower than previous MW titles

The announced attendance of 23,662 was the lowest among the three Mountain West championship games played at Albertsons Stadium. The game drew 24,515 in 2017 and 26,101 in 2014. Certainly, weather was a factor, as was having to re-sell the stadium in a week.

Boise State led the Mountain West in average attendance during the regular season (34,370), its best since 2012. The small, but vocal crowd Saturday helped cause three false start penalties. Coming into the weekend, no stadium saw more opponent false starts (20) than Albertsons Stadium.

Quick hits

Fresno State defensive end Mykal Walker was named Defensive MVP. He had 11 tackles (two for loss), a sack and a fumble recovery. ... Boise State wore all blue. ... The whole team carried Hammers. ... Wide receiver Sean Modster was the single-game captain. ... Fresno State won the coin toss and deferred. ... Fresno State won the overtime coin toss and chose defense. ... Boise State recognized a handful of former players who were watching from the sideline: Leighton Vander Esch, Cedrick Wilson, Shea McClellin, Jay Ajayi, Marcus Henry, Montell Cozart and Ryan Dinwiddie. ... Junior linebacker Tyson Maeva had a team-high 11 tackles, including a sack. ... Sophomore safety Jordan Happle had seven tackles (2.5 for loss), including a sack. ... Fresno State safety Arron Mosby was ejected in the first quarter for targeting after hitting quarterback Brett Rypien high as he slid. ... It was the first overtime game at Albertsons Stadium since Oct. 14, 2007, against Nevada. Boise State won that game 69-67 in four overtimes, and is 1-4 since in OT games.

This story was originally published December 2, 2018 at 1:09 AM.