A three-way tie atop the Mountain West Conference standings would make it likely the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl gets a champion for the Christmas Eve game at Aloha Stadium.
Barring an 11th hour upset, San Diego State (8-3 overall, 6-1 MWC), Fresno State (8-3, 6-1) and Boise State (8-2, 5-1) appear headed for a tie.
A conference spokesman said the Las Vegas Bowl gets the first pick of bowl-eligible MWC teams, followed by the San Diego-based Poinsettia Bowl. A lineup could emerge from next week’s MWC meetings.
With Las Vegas expected to pick between Boise State and Fresno State and the Poinsettia interested in San Diego State, the Hawaii Bowl appears likely to end up with Fresno State as its MWC representative.
Hawaii Bowl executive director David Matlin declined to state a preference but said, “I am looking forward to meeting all of the eligible teams next week at the Mountain West Conference bowl meetings.”
Nevada (6-4) is also bowl eligible, while Air Force (5-5) needs to defeat UH or Fresno to become bowl eligible.
The MWC representative is contracted to play a team from Conference USA. Former Hawaii coach June Jones’ Southern Methodist Mustangs would be the most attractive possibility if SMU (5-5) wins at least one of its two remaining games (Rice and Tulsa).
Central Florida (8-2), East Carolina (6-4) and Tulsa (8-2) are already bowl eligible, while Marshall (4-6), Houston (4-6) and Rice (4-6) each require two victories.
The Liberty Bowl gets the first pick of C-USA teams, followed by the Hawaii Bowl.
“We are looking forward to Conference USA sending another competitive team to see if they can continue their four-game Sheraton Hawaii Bowl winning streak,” Matlin said.
