The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Reviewing Bowl Season

The 2022 college football season has concluded. The Mountain West was fortunate enough to send six teams bowling. It was not the showing that the Mountain West had hoped for, as they finished the bowl season with a losing record going 3-4. Let’s dissect the bowl season for the conference and how it impacts the Mountain West moving forward. Here are the good, bad, and ugly moments from this bowl season.

The Good

The Top Three Teams Get It Done

Air Force, Boise State, and Fresno State were the only Mountain West teams to come away with victories this bowl season. Not only that but these bowl wins allowed each program to reach ten victories on the season, a nice silver lining in what was a rough football season for the Mountain West. Fresno State and Air Force had dominating performances over Power Five teams and were able to send their senior-heavy teams out with a bang.

Boise State may not have had the dominant performance that many fans were expecting, but they have a promising future. The Broncos scored five touchdowns, all scored by freshmen (Taylen Green, Ashton Jeanty, Eric McAllister). The future looks bright for the Broncos.

The Bad

Transfers Impact Bowl Performance

Wyoming was hit hard by star players who departed for the transfer portal. It clearly impacted their performance against an Ohio team that they should have beaten handily, The Cowboys were depleted on both sides of the ball. It will be interesting to see if Bohl can continue to work his magic in Laramie; no team in the conference has felt the impact of the transfer portal more than Wyoming.

The Ugly

A Losing Record and It May Not Get Better

The Mountain West managed to win its two toughest bowl games. With Fresno State and Air Force taking care of Baylor and Washington State, it seemed like the conference should have a strong bowl season. Disappointing performances from San Diego State, San Jose State, and Wyoming in particular caused this bowl season to be a massive failure for the Mountain West. Unless some teams manage to hit gold in the transfer portal, things aren’t looking good for the conference in 2023.

Which moments from this bowl season stood out to you? How do you feel about the conference heading into next fall? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.