Colorado State hosts two significant games today – an earlier than usual neighborhood men’s basketball clash with rival Colorado and a later than expected decision on a bowl bid for the football team.
CSU athletic director Mark Driscoll would love to announce a bowl at halftime of the basketball game.
“Chances of that happening are slim,” Driscoll said.
The Mountain West has four 6-5 teams (CSU, BYU, New Mexico and Utah) but only 10-1 champion TCU is assured a bowl. Utah played its way into contention Saturday with an upset of BYU. New Mexico hurt its chances the most by losing to Air Force, while the Rams continued to tread water following a more difficult than expected 31-27 win over last-place UNLV. CSU had a two-game losing streak going into the finale.
MWC commissioner Craig Thompson informed Driscoll that bowl announcements may not come until later in the week.
Thompson and Las Vegas Bowl executive director Tina Kunzer-Murphy attended the Utah-BYU game Saturday, with Kunzer-Murphy planning to extend an invitation to BYU after the game. But the Cougars fell in overtime, setting up a Las Vegas Bowl committee meeting today.
With Dec. 22 dates for the Las Vegas and San Diego Poinsettia bowls, it’s in the best interest of both events to announce teams as soon as possible for schools to start selling tickets.
Much hinges on whether the Fort Worth Bowl, a possible outlet for New Mexico, has an opening. Kansas would have to beat Iowa State or Texas A&M spring a major upset of Texas for an opening to occur.
While the San Francisco Emerald Bowl had little interest in either of its past two MWC entrants, New Mexico and CSU, neither BYU nor Utah has previously played in that game. The bowl may not have a Pac-10 opponent qualify and will be seeking an at-large team to play the MWC.
Although the Las Vegas Bowl picks first among MWC teams, TCU is headed to the Houston Bowl. The Horned Frogs are an attractive draw for any bowl, but Thompson told The Salt Lake Tribune: “They would have had brought maybe 1,000 fans with them (to Las Vegas).”
Attendance numbers rather than poll rankings are more important to the Las Vegas Bowl to keep its NCAA certification.
Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-820-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
