Bowls, title on line in MWC

Two shots at bowl eligibility and one league championship are on the line this week in the Mountain West Conference.

First, the football championship. Front-runner Colorado State plays host to New Mexico, with the Lobos still holding on to a small hope at sharing the MWC title and representing the league at the Liberty Bowl.

CSU is undefeated through five league games, with New Mexico's overtime loss at Air Force in early September being the Lobos' sole blemish through five games.

A Ram victory Saturday clinches the conference championship and Liberty Bowl berth for CSU. However, if New Mexico wins, both teams would have identical 5-1 league records — and the Lobos would have the advantage in head-to-head competition if the two teams end up sharing the MWC crown.

Both teams have games next week as well — UNLV at CSU and Wyoming at New Mexico — so there are several combinations of possible wins and losses that could result in a CSU championship, a New Mexico title or a shared crown.

BOWL ELIGIBILITY: Still, only two Mountain West teams have become bowl-eligible so far — CSU and Air Force. And this for a conference with four guaranteed bowl berths this season, with the MWC aligned with the Liberty, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Seattle Bowls.

BYU remains one win shy with one game to play, and New Mexico must beat either CSU or Wyoming to become bowl-worthy.

The conference could end up with four bowl teams if BYU beats Utah this week and New Mexico picks up at least one win —- the best bet being next week's game against Wyoming.

The conference could end up with only three bowl teams if only one of the two can pick up a victory — and BYU is seen to have the more-difficult task at hand.

And, yes, just two bowl-eligible teams are a possibility for the Mountain West if both BYU or New Mexico falter down the stretch.

NAME GAME: The San Francisco Bowl does have a name sponsor — the bowl's official name is the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl. Hmmmm, the Walnut Bowl?

ATTENDANCE FIGURES: In its five home games this season, Wyoming has averaged 13,687 in attendance, with the year's best crowd at 16,256. Remember, the NCAA is looking to move to a required minimum of 15,000 for Division I programs in the near future, with the Cowboys.