COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Mountain West Champion Boise State has earned the No. 3 seed in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff field and will head to the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, headlining five MW teams earning bowl bids in 2024.
This marks the 17th time in the last 18 years with at least five MW teams competing in the postseason, with the lone exception being the 2020 Covid-affected season.
Boise State (Vrbo Fiesta Bowl), Colorado State (Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop), Fresno State (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl), San José State (Hawai‘i Bowl) and UNLV (Art of Sport LA Bowl Hosted By Gronk) will represent the Mountain West in the postseason.
Including the five this season, the Mountain West has earned 133 bowl bids since 1999 and holds a 69-56 (.552) all-time record. Over the last 20 seasons, the league has captured the Bowl Challenge Cup five times and owns the second-best winning percentage in bowl games among the FBS conferences with a 62-48 (.564) mark.
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl | No. 3 seed Boise State vs. No. 11 seed SMU or No. 6 seed Penn State
Tuesday, Dec. 31 | Glendale, Ariz. | 5:30 p.m. MT | ESPN
2024 Mountain West champion Boise State (12-1, 7-0 MW) is the No. 3 seed and will face either No. 11 seed SMU (11-2, 8-0 ACC) or No. 6 seed Penn State (11-2, 8-1 Big Ten), both of whom fell in their respective conference championship games, in the CFP quarterfinals at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 31. The Broncos, who are coming off a 21-7 win over No. 20 UNLV in the Old Trapper Mountain West Football Championship, enter Bowl Season riding an 11-game winning streak and have secured their 27th consecutive winning season. Paced by Heisman favorite and MW Offensive Player of the Year Ashton Jeanty and under the direction of MW Coach of the Year Spencer Danielson, Boise State is bowl eligible for a 27th consecutive season – the second-longest active streak in the nation. The Broncos, who finished No. 9 in the final CFP rankings and were the third-highest ranked conference champions, are 2-0 all-time against SMU, having claimed wins in 2003 and 2004, and have never faced Penn State. Boise State is 13-8 in bowls all-time, including a 3-0 mark in the Fiesta Bowl with wins over Oklahoma (43-42 in overtime, 2007), TCU (17-10 in 2010) and Arizona (38-30). MW teams have faced SMU in a bowl just once, with Fresno State falling in the 2012 Hawai‘i Bowl, and have not faced Penn State in a bowl game.
Art of Sport LA Bowl Hosted By Gronk | UNLV vs. California
Wednesday, Dec. 18 | Los Angeles, Calif. | 6 p.m. PT | ESPN
UNLV (10-3, 6-1 MW) will take on California (6-6, 2-6 ACC) in the Art of Sport LA Bowl Hosted By Gronk in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Dec. 18. The Rebels, who played in the Old Trapper Mountain West Football Championship for the second straight season, reached 10 wins for the first time in 40 years and are making their second straight bowl appearance for the first time in program history. UNLV, which boasts MW Defensive Player of the Year Jackson Woodard, MW Special Teams Player of the Year Ricky White III and MW Freshman of the Year Caden Chittenden, is 3-2 all-time in bowl games and will be making its first appearance in the LA Bowl. UNLV and Cal have met just once previously, with the Bears claiming a 20-14 win in 2022. The MW is 1-3 against Cal in bowl games all-time, with Utah earning a 37-27 win in the 2009 Poinsettia Bowl.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Fresno State vs. Northern Illinois
Monday, Dec. 23 | Boise, Idaho | 12:30 p.m. MT | ESPN
Fresno State (6-6, 4-3 MW) will play Northern Illinois (7-5, 4-4 MAC) on Monday, Dec. 23, in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, Idaho. The Bulldogs, who are 17-15 in bowl games all-time, will be making their fourth straight bowl appearance and have won their last five bowl games, the longest active streak behind only Georgia and Minnesota, who have both won their last seven. Fresno State is 2-1 in bowl games in Boise, with wins in 2004 (Virginia, 37-34 in overtime) and 2007 (Georgia Tech, 40-28). The Bulldogs are 3-2 against Northern Illinois all-time, with the squads last meeting in Boise in the 2010 uDrove Humanitarian Bowl, a 40-17 Huskies win. MW teams are 3-0 against NIU in bowl games all-time, with all three coming in the Poinsettia Bowl. TCU won 37-7 in 2006, Utah State won 21-14 in 2013 and Boise State topped Northern Illinois 55-7 in 2015.
Hawai‘i Bowl | San José State vs. South Florida
Tuesday, Dec. 24 | Honolulu, Hawai‘i | 3 p.m. HT | ESPN
As previously announced, San José State (7-5, 3-4 MW) will face South Florida (6-6, 4-4 AAC) on Tuesday, Dec. 24, in the Hawai‘i Bowl in Honolulu, marking the fourth time in the last five seasons the Spartans have earned a bowl bid. Playing in the Hawai‘i Bowl for the second straight season, the Spartans turned in the best record of any FBS program in California and capped the regular season with a win over Stanford. San José State, which is 7-6 all-time in bowl games, is in its first year under the direction of head coach Ken Niumatalolo, a La‘ie, Hawai‘i, native and former University of Hawai‘i quarterback. SJSU has never faced South Florida and a MW team has never faced the Bulls in a bowl game.
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop | Colorado State vs. Miami (Ohio)
Saturday, Dec. 28 | Tucson, Ariz. | 2:30 p.m. MT | The CW
Colorado State (8-4, 6-1 MW) will take on Mid-American runner-up Miami (Ohio) (8-5, 7-1 MAC) in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop in Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday, Dec. 28. The Rams, who posted their most overall and MW wins since 2014, will be playing in a bowl game for the first time since 2017. CSU, 6-11 in bowls all-time, will be making its second appearance in the Arizona Bowl, having played in the inaugural contest in 2015, falling to Nevada, 28-23. The Rams and RedHawks have met twice, with Miami claiming wins in 2003 and 2010. A Mountain West team has never faced Miami in a bowl game.
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