MWC's 8 are filled with bowl hopes

One year after the Mountain West Conference couldn't fill all of its bowl contracts, the league will have bowl-eligible teams sitting home this holiday season.

It's the second week of November and all eight MWC teams still have hopes of becoming bowl eligible, believe it or not. No other conference in the nation can boast that claim. In addition, only UNLV, 1-4 in the conference, has been mathematically eliminated from earning a piece of the league title.

"It's fascinating, our bowl race," said MWC commissioner Craig Thompson. "What (the bowl race) does is it drives attendance. Interest is up all around the league."

Last year the MWC had deals with four bowls, but only three teams qualified — Colorado State, Air Force and New Mexico. To be bowl eligible, a team must have at least six wins with at least a .500 record. Three MWC teams — Utah , Air Force and New Mexico — are already bowl eligible. Colorado State, San Diego State and UNLV each need one win to be bowl eligible, while Wyoming and BYU will need to win two games.

This year the league has just three bowl contracts since the Seattle Bowl went out of business. With little hope of other bowl spots opening up, the MWC will have bowl-eligible teams left out.

Utah is in the best position and figures to be one of the MWC's three bowl teams. All the Utes have to do is win one of their final two games — at home Saturday against Wyoming and at BYU on Nov. 22 — to earn at least a tie for the league title. Two wins and they clinch their first outright conference championship since 1957.

Surprising Wyoming, however, is the only other team in the league that is in control of its fate. If the Cowboys win their final three games, they will finish 5-2 in the league and will be guaranteed at least a share of the league title. All the other MWC teams — including Air Force and New Mexico — need help if they want a piece of the league crown. They all need Wyoming and/or BYU to down the Utes.

"It's a pretty tough league," said Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick. "There is no team where you go in there as a three-touchdown favorite . . . Any team can beat any other team."

It also beginning to appear that the league may get even stronger. The expansion of the conference by at least one team almost seems inevitable now. And the school that will likely be the first (and possibly only) one to be invited to join the MWC is unbeaten Texas Christian. The Horned Frogs, currently of Conference USA, are threatening to crash the BCS's party.

Thompson called MWC expansion "a very high probability" on Tuesday. If the league does expand, TCU appears to be a popular choice.

"Our sole intention is to get a piece of the BCS pie and TCU could help us in that area," Thompson said.

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