Yes, the University of Hawaii football team is bowl eligible and, yes, the Rainbow Warriors both want to play in the Dec. 22 Hawaii Bowl and expect to land there, eventually.

But there is also growing nervousness in the ranks of bowl-eligible Mountain West teams that suggests the ’Bows’ Saturday’s game at San Diego State might be viewed as an insurance policy for the winner.

Both the Aztecs (7-4, 4-3 MWC) and Rainbow Warriors (7-5, 4-3) have met the NCAA standards for bowl eligibility, but with only five contracted bowl berths for what could soon be seven MWC bowl-eligible teams, there is no assurance that everybody will have a bowl game to play in.

San Diego State athletic director John David Wicker told the San Diego Union Tribune on Monday, “The league always wants Hawaii (in the Hawaii Bowl) and ESPN wants Hawaii there for ticket sales. But if it came down to it and there was no other bowl slot, I would fight to say we beat Hawaii and we finished ahead of them. We should be in Hawaii ahead of them, or Boise or Fresno or whoever.”

Wicker’s statement is seen as a pointed reminder to the conference office to redouble its efforts to find games for all the bowl-eligible members and avoid messy internecine skirmishes.

So far, the conference’s only public statement on UH’s postseason prospects has been to say, “All options are on the table” thereby not irritating the other members.

Wicker’s counterpart, UH athletic director David Matlin, said in an email, “We are excited to be bowl eligible and there is nowhere else that we want to be except Aloha Stadium on December 22.”

Which means the pressure is on conference headquarters to make everybody happy. Or at least postseason bound.

Some years that has been a struggle amid the constantly changing bowl landscape. In 2015, for instance, the conference was forced to have two of its members, Colorado State and Nevada, play each other in the inaugural Arizona Bowl as the only way to place all its bowl-eligible schools.

There were 40 bowl games then, and this year there are 39 with the closing of the San Diego-based Poinsettia Bowl, which had been contracted to take an MWC representative and an independent team.

If any of the nine other conferences are unable to furnish enough bowl eligible teams to meet their contractual requirements, the MWC could slide somebody in as has happened in the past. Or, if the MWC championship game winner is placed in the sole New Year’s Six berth available to the Group of Five conferences, that would open a spot.

But unbeaten Central Florida (10-0) would have to lose for the MWC to have a shot.

So far Utah State (11-1), Fresno State (9-2), Boise State (9-2), Nevada (7-4), the Aztecs and ’Bows are bowl eligible in the MWC. Wyoming (5-6) could join the list with a victory Saturday at New Mexico (3-8).

To this point, there are 71 teams for 78 bowl slots and there will be at least 74 by the end of play Saturday.

According to posted MWC guidelines, the conference champion is guaranteed a slot. Determining “which teams at the lower end of the bowl eligibility pool shall have priority …” if there are not bowl openings comes down to: (a) regular-season conference record; (b) head-to-head results; and (c) common opponents, including conference and nonconference games.

If it were to reach that point, UH would have an edge over Wyoming but lose out to everybody else if it was defeated by San Diego State.

But UH also has ESPN, the 800-pound gorilla of the bowl process, in its corner. The Hawaii Bowl is one of 15 games ESPN Events owns and operates, making it in the network’s interest to help broker a resolution. And in the MWC’s to listen intently.