COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – UNLV will host Boise State in the 2023 Mountain West Football Championship at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, Dec. 2.
Boise State, San José State, and UNLV all finished the regular season with identical 6-2 MW records. Since all three teams did not face each other head-to-head as part of the mini round-robin tiebreak, and no team was ranked in the latest College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, the three-way tie was broken by computer rankings from Anderson & Hester, Colley Matrix, Massey and Wolfe.
According to the average computer rankings, UNLV finished at 44.50, while Boise State was at 55.75 and San José State at 58.50. Therefore, the Broncos and Rebels secured their spots in the MW Championship. UNLV and Boise State did not play each other during the regular season. The Rebels had the higher overall average ranking and earned the right to host the title tilt.
The Mountain West eliminated divisional play in May 2022, which required the MW Football Championship tiebreakers to be reviewed and changed this past August to ensure the two teams with the strongest body of work are in the championship game. The CFP ranking (or computer rankings if no team is ranked in the CFP) became the third tiebreak after win percentage in Conference play and head-to-head matchups. The new parameters were implemented to provide the opportunity for the top two teams to play in the championship game and advance to a New Year’s Six game.
In 2023, the Mountain West has seven bowl-eligible teams and is one of six leagues with at least half of its teams with five or fewer losses.
The MW Championship will kick off at 12 p.m. PT and will air on FOX.
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