Bowl projections: Boise State likely headed to Las Vegas — with intrigue about the opponent
The Boise State football team almost certainly is headed to the Las Vegas Bowl — and the opponent could be Chris Petersen’s Washington Huskies.
The No. 19 Broncos (12-1) took the Mountain West championship Saturday with a 31-10 win against Hawaii, but they didn’t get the help they needed to reach the Cotton Bowl.
Memphis held off Cincinnati 29-24 in the American Athletic Conference championship game, all but guaranteeing Memphis the Cotton Bowl berth that goes to the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion. Memphis is No. 17 in the CFP rankings; Boise State is No. 19.
[Related: Boise State gets redemption after last year’s title loss; Instant Analysis: Boise State has become a dominant force in MW; scoring summary]
The Las Vegas Bowl holds the top pick from the Mountain West and prefers to take the champion. It was considering Hawaii (9-5), but the Rainbow Warriors’ lopsided loss in Boise likely ends those thoughts.
The Las Vegas Bowl will issue its invitations Sunday between 1:50 and 2 p.m., Executive Director John Saccenti said in an interview Saturday at Albertsons Stadium.
“It was classic Boise State,” Saccenti said of the Broncos’ win. “They showed up. They always play well in the big games. And these big games matter to them. And they don’t seem to disappoint very often.”
The Las Vegas Bowl gets the fifth selection from the Pac-12 after the New Year’s Six bowls. Oregon will play in the Rose Bowl. No. 5 Utah is the wild card — if the Utes plummet after their blowout loss to the Ducks in the Pac-12 championship game, they won’t get a New Year’s Six bid and the Las Vegas Bowl will get one of the Pac-12’s seven-win teams. If Utah sneaks into a New Year’s Six game, then Las Vegas will get Washington State (6-6).
Assuming the Utes drop, Arizona State, Washington and Cal — all 7-5 — would be available for the Redbox, Sun and Las Vegas bowls. The Sun is expected to take Arizona State.
Redbox (Santa Clara, California) could take Cal, the local team, to help draw fans. Or it could take Washington and its national brand, and perhaps capitalize on the attention created by Petersen’s last game with the Huskies. He announced earlier this month that he’s stepping down after the bowl game.
Whichever team Redbox doesn’t take would go to Las Vegas.
In Washington’s case, that would pit Petersen — the coach who led Boise State to its greatest heights from 2006 to 2013 — against his former school and his former offensive coordinator, Boise State coach Bryan Harsin.
In California’s case, that would create a matchup between Harsin and Cal coach Justin Wilcox — the guys who served as the Boise State offensive and defensive coordinators for the 2006 and 2009 undefeated seasons.
Our latest projection: Boise State vs. Washington.
New Year’s Six
Fiesta, Dec. 28 (CFP semifinal): Ohio State vs. Clemson
Peach, Dec. 28 (CFP semifinal): LSU vs. Oklahoma
Rose, Jan. 1 (Pac-12 vs. Big Ten): Oregon vs. Wisconsin
Sugar, Jan. 1 (Big 12 vs. SEC): Baylor vs. Georgia
Orange, Dec. 30 (ACC vs. SEC/Big Ten/Notre Dame): Virginia vs. Florida
Cotton, Dec. 28 (Group of Five vs. at-large): Memphis vs. Auburn
Mountain West
Las Vegas, Dec. 21 (MW vs. Pac-12): Boise State vs. Washington
Cheez-It, Dec. 27 (Big 12/MW vs. Pac-12): Air Force vs. Washington State
Famous Idaho Potato, Jan. 3 (MW vs. MAC): Utah State vs. Eastern Michigan
New Mexico, Dec. 21 (MW vs. C-USA): Wyoming vs. Marshall
Hawaii, Dec. 24 (American vs. BYU): Hawaii vs. BYU
Armed Forces, Jan. 4 (MW vs. Big Ten/at-large): Nevada vs. Florida International
Arizona, Dec. 31 (MW vs. Sun Belt): San Diego State vs. Georgia Southern
This is a breaking news post and will be updated.
This story was originally published December 7, 2019 at 5:47 PM.
