SAN JOSE — From 1-5 to a bowl game and a conference championship?
Both are possible for San Jose State by virtue of its 24-13 victory over San Diego State on Saturday night, but will either happen? With six wins, the Spartans (6-5) are eligible for a bowl game. But will they be invited to one?
At 5-2 in the Mountain West, the Spartans have a chance of reaching the conference championship game. But that’s not within their control either.
This year, there are 41 FBS bowl games, needing 82 teams. As of Sunday, 67 teams, including SJSU, are bowl-eligible. There are 24 additional teams with a chance of still gaining bowl eligibility, including two teams (Colorado State and Utah State) that would give the Mountain West eight representatives.
If there are more bowl-eligible teams than bowl games, subjective factors enter the equation, things such as “quality” wins and how well a team “travels” (aka how many fans will follow a team to a bowl site and spend money).
Of its six wins, SJSU has only one against a bowl-eligible opponent (Fresno State). That number will double if Utah State (5-6) beats New Mexico on Friday.
There is one thing in SJSU’s control and that is Saturday’s regular-season finale at UNLV. Beat the Rebels (9-2, 6-1), and the Spartans will have seven wins, a six-game winning streak, and a stranglehold on a bowl invitation.
The prospects of getting to the conference championship game are less clear, even if the Spartans knock off the first-place Rebels in Las Vegas.
An SJSU win over UNLV means there would be a three-way tie for first place among SJSU, UNLV, and the winner of Friday’s game between Air Force and Boise State. All would be 6-2.
According to Mountain West officials, in that scenario, the conference championship match-up would be determined by computer ranking.
A win over UNLV would certainly help SJSU’s case to be in the conference championship game. But it will all depend on whether the computer values the Spartans’ wins more than the wins of their conference opponents.
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Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
