Week 14 Rooting Guide

The championship game is set, we know that Boise State will be hosting Hawaii on December 7th. However, the bowl picture is not so clear. There are rumors floating around that Boise State will not be going to the Vegas Bowl regardless of what happens in the championship game and Hawaii is headed to Vegas.

Hawaii

• Hawaii is an interesting case, I think there are some arguments to be made for letting Hawaii leave the islands for bowl season. What Rolovich has done with this program is nothing short of remarkable and they are a fun team to watch. I think Vegas would love to have the Rainbow Warriors if they can’t get Boise State. There is a large Hawaii contingent in Vegas and their fans would have a solid showing.
• With that being said, that makes the game this weekend important if Hawaii wants to be considered for this game. Nine wins looks better than eight. Hawaii should also be rooting for Boise State to win. It will add more intrigue to the championship game and if Hawaii does lose to Boise State in the championship game, it will make them more desirable to a big bowl game.
• Hawaii should also be rooting for SDSU to beat BYU.

Air Force

• I’m putting the Falcons on here, because they could finish the year with 10 wins and they have a bit of a national draw. A win over Wyoming and their only losses coming against an 11-1 Boise and a 10-2 Navy, would be a heck of a season. I think this could land Air Force in the free agent pool. I could see the Armed Forces, Texas Bowl, and possibly Vegas looking at the Falcons for their game.

Boise State

• This is shaping up to be an interesting bowl season, there are a number of higher bowl games that could have some free agent spots. A Boise State team that could be approaching the top 15 would be appealing to a Liberty or Texas Bowl, both of which have huge payouts. The Cotton Bowl may be a pipe dream, but playing Texas or Oklahoma State and getting a $6 million payout isn’t a bad prize for Boise State. With that being said, there is still a chance that Boise State could land in the Cotton Bowl.
• Root for Hawaii, Air Force, BYU, Utah State, Marshall, and Florida State. Boise State could finish with wins over a 10 win team, two wins over a 9 win team, an 8 win team, and three wins over seven win teams.
• Root for Cincinnati and Navy. If Cincinnati and Navy both win, they will face each other in the conference championship. If Navy wins the AAC and Boise State wins out, they would likely head to the Cotton Bowl.

What did I miss? What games are you most excited for this weekend?