Mountain West football championship game scenarios, Week 13 recap

Seven teams, including Boise State, alive for title game

Boise State's Jaden Mickey | Boise State Athletics

Entering the final week of the Mountain West football regular season, just one team controls its destiny for a spot in the Dec. 5 championship game. 

San Diego State (9-2, 6-1) is one win away from hosting the MWC championship game at Snapdragon Stadium. The Aztecs, who secured a commanding 25-3 victory over San Jose State (3-8, 2-5) late Saturday night, have a road matchup with New Mexico (8-3, 5-2) at 1:30 p.m. Mountain time on Black Friday. 

At 2 p.m. on Friday, Boise State (7-4, 5-2) can stay alive for the other MWC championship game berth with a road win over Utah State (6-5, 4-3). After suffering back-to-back losses in MWC play for the first time since 2021, the Broncos blasted Colorado State (2-9, 1-6) on Saturday, 49-21. 

If Boise State and San Diego State take care of business on Black Friday, the teams will meet again at Snapdragon Stadium on Dec. 5. The Aztecs won the first meeting between the teams last week in San Diego, 17-7. 

If San Diego State loses to New Mexico, things become much more complicated. 

UNLV (9-2, 5-2) would clinch a title game berth with a San Diego State win, a Boise State loss and a road victory over Nevada (3-8, 2-5). Kickoff between the Rebels and Wolf Pack is slated for 7 p.m. Mountain time on Saturday. 

New Mexico, a 20-3 winner over Air Force (3-8, 2-5) on Saturday, would host the MWC championship game with a victory over San Diego State and a Boise State loss to Utah State. The Lobos own the head-to-head tiebreaker with UNLV. 

In the event of a four-way tie at the top between Boise State, New Mexico, San Diego State and UNLV, the championship game participants would be selected by an average across four computer rankings: Connelly SP+, SportSource, ESPN’s SOR and KPI Rankings.

The SportSource rankings are not provided to the public. Entering last week, San Diego State had the highest average ranking in the other three metrics, followed by UNLV, Boise State and New Mexico. 

If Boise State, New Mexico and San Diego State wind up in a three-way tie, the computer rankings would also be used. The three teams would be 1-1 against each other. 

The computer rankings would also be used to solve a three-way tie between New Mexico, San Diego State and UNLV as the Aztecs and Rebels missed each other during the regular season. 

The computer average would also determine the host site in a three-way or four-way tie scenario. 

Additionally, there is a long-shot scenario in which Boise State, Fresno State (7-4, 4-3), Hawaii (7-4, 4-3), New Mexico, UNLV and Utah State all finish with identical 5-3 marks in conference play. The highest team in the computer rankings average would advance to face San Diego State. 

Fresno State’s MWC title game chances took a major hit on Saturday with a 28-17 home loss to Utah State. The Rainbow Warriors fell at UNLV on Friday night, 38-10. 

Nevada picked up its second straight victory on Saturday, taking down Wyoming (4-7, 2-5) on the road, 13-7. Former Cowboys quarterback Josh Allen, the reigning NFL MVP, was in attendance for a jersey retirement ceremony.