SAN DIEGO — What if Utah's Bowl Championship Series hopes are derailed by BYU next Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium?

It's a scenario Utah fans likely don't want to hear about.

Anything less than a trip to the Fiesta, Orange, Rose or Sugar bowls wouldn't sit well at this point.

A win over the Cougars is pretty much all that stands in the way of the Utes' second BCS berth since 2004.

A loss, however, would alter the landscape significantly — and probably bring the Utes back to Qualcomm Stadium for a second straight appearance in the Poinsettia Bowl. They defeated Navy, 35-32 in last year's game.

Larry Baber, president of the Holiday Bowl committee which oversees the game, said such a scenario is possible because he believes the Las Vegas Bowl would take BYU with the first pick it has of Mountain West Conference teams. The Poinsettia Bowl has the second selection.

"Then we would get Utah," Baber said. "We'd be fine with that. How could we argue with an 11-1 team?"

Though having the same team back for a second consecutive year is not ideal, Baber acknowledged it would be in such a circumstance.

"We wouldn't pass over them for TCU," he said. "What are our other choices? Utah would be it."

The most likely opponent? A team from the Western Athletic Conference because the Pac-10 likely won't have enough bowl-eligible teams to meet its contractual obligation to the Poinsettia Bowl.

Boise State tops the list, but would likely go to the BCS if Utah loses to BYU.

If the Utes prevail, the Poinsettia Bowl has hopes of pitting the Broncos against BYU or TCU.

"There's been conversations," Baber said of the possibilities.

"Obviously there's a lot of things that have to happen. But it is nice to fantasize."

QUALCOMM FUTURE: SDSU officials had to secure a "special two- game permit" in order to play Saturday's game at Qualcomm Stadium. It'll also cover next week's visit by UNLV as the school and stadium officials negotiate a new pact. A long-term deal between the parties expired at the end of the 2007 season and led to a pair of special permits this year — a four-game agreement and then the latest deal.

A stadium official told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the current negotiations have been "very difficult" and "very, very frustrating."

The newspaper reports the city lost approximately $310,000 hosting SDSU football games over 2006 and 2007 and is no longer interested in "subsidizing" the Aztecs.