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The Mountain West is in a very good and a very bad situation regarding the success of the 2013 season, and this has nothing to do with Fresno State no longer in the running for a BCS game, well maybe just a little.
The Mountain West has a record six bowl contracts and also a record seven bowl teams, but with San Jose State earning a bowl bid by upsetting Fresno State that gave Mountain West seven bowl-eligible teams which puts the league in the predicament for this post season.
Also not helping is that right now there are more bowl-eligible teams then bowl spots and there are a few more that could get to the magic mediocre number of six wins in Rutgers and SMU. The AAC still has a few open bowl slots which could go to an at-large team Mountain West if neither the Scarlet Knights or Mustangs become bowl eligible.
In Monday's teleconference with Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson, he did not sound very optimistic about all seven teams getting a bowl bid. There was a lot of talk in the teleconference about marketing a team to a bowl that has an at-large bid, and the only team that fits that category is Boise State. The Broncos could take one of those AAC bids, or any other bowl that has an at-large spot due to their prestige.
Thompson also mentioned that while the Las Vegas Bowl is not contractually obligated to take the league champion, but rather get first pick - yet said it is a near lock that they will take the winner between Fresno State and Utah State.
Three of the six Mountain West bowls come on the first weekend of the bowl season which is Saturday Dec. 21 and couple that with the late night Mountain West title game will make things somewhat difficult to negotiate a spot for the seventh team.
All of Thompson's response felt like getting all seven bowl eligible teams was highly unlikely, but work is ongoing to try to make that happen.
