For the University of Hawaii football team and, indeed the rest of the Mountain West Conference, there are two things pretty much guaranteed to happen when you play Boise State.

One is that you will likely be an underdog (UH is by 14 points Saturday). The other is that at least you get to take your shot on a national TV stage (CBS Sports Network is carrying the game).

Saturday’s meeting at Aloha Stadium will mark the ninth time in 10 games that a Rainbow Warriors’ appearance against Boise State has been shown nationally. It is one of only two nationally shown games UH will have in this eight-game regular season. (The loss at Wyoming was the other).

The Broncos have been darlings of the networks and attracted a national following since the early 2000s when the inter-mountain school with the blue turf field began making a name for itself by winning championships and knocking off marquee foes.

Boise State’s ability to draw viewership has made it such a network fixture that all of its games since early 2012, a streak of 103 consecutive games entering Saturday, have been picked up nationally. This year metered viewership for the Broncos’ games doubles that of other non-Boise State MWC contests.

Broncos coach Bryan Harsin said, “When your brand is out there and people have known and have seen it on TV and, hopefully, seen something they have liked, then absolutely (recruits) and parents remember.”

Until this season the Broncos were largely an ESPN staple, appearing on the network’s platforms 119 times since 1999, something they credit for their recruiting prowess. “I think a combination that really took us to the next level was being on ESPN, and playing well on ESPN,” then-Boise State coach Chris Petersen said in 2013.

This year the Broncos were the main prize as CBS and Fox Sports out-bid ESPN for the Mountain West TV rights. The two networks will pay the conference a combined $270 million over six years and Boise State will get the largest shares.

In return, CBS gets the rights to all Boise State road games controlled by the conference and Fox gets title to the home games. It is the only school in the 12-member conference whose games are so locked up.

Because of its popularity with the networks, Boise State leveraged a most-favored team clause in its membership agreement with the conference when it returned to the Mountain West in 2012 after a dalliance with the imploding Big East.

Under the terms of the agreement, Boise State got a $1.8 million carve-out above the shares its peers get. That is expected to bring the Broncos about $5.7 million compared to the approximately $3.7 million the other schools, except UH, which is a football-only member, receive.

When MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson suggested that carve-out deal could end after the current contract, Boise State filed suit and the conference quickly backpedalled, saying it would enter discussions with the Broncos.

How those talks conclude could have something to say about what the Rainbow Warriors get. UH keeps its local Spectrum rights, which would amount to about $2.9 million if all terms are satisfied, but it must make at least seven games a season available for pay-per-view.

UH may receive a partial, prorated share of some of the conference money, but that figure has yet to be announced, a spokesman said.

For the moment, though, playing Boise State is all about cashing in on a rare opportunity to make a statement in front of a national audience.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.