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Mountain West football tiebreaker rules

Confused about who will represent each division if there is a tie? Well, you are in luck as here are the full tiebreaker rules.

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

With there being a real possibility of ties in both the West and Mountain Divisions there is a real need to look at the tiebreaker scenarios. Luck may have it, my inbox late Sunday night there was the tiebreaker procedure on ties.

Chris and Jeremy discussed in our Week 8 recap podcast on what we though were the tiebreaker rules, so instead of guessing we have the official rules on what to do in the event of a tie.

MW_Football_Champ_Host_Site_Determination-Div_Tiebreakers.0.pdf

Mountain West host determination

The Conference Football Championship Game shall be played at the site of the divisional champion with the highest College Football Playoff (CFP) Selection Committee ranking.  The site determination shall be made no later than the Sunday following the final week of regular‐season games, utilizing the latest available CFP poll.

If one divisional champion was ranked ahead of the other divisional champion in the CFP Selection Committee ranking and wins in the final weekend of the regular season, they will be declared the host.  If, in that same scenario, the divisional champion that was the highest‐ranked in the CFP poll loses in the final weekend of the regular season, a composite of selected computer rankings following the games of November 29 will be used to determine the host.

If no Mountain West teams are ranked in the latest available CFP Selection Committee poll, a composite of selected computer rankings following the games of November 29 will be used to determine the host.

Host Tie Breaker

In the event of a tie in the latest CFP Selection Committee ranking or the composite of selected computer rankings, the following comparison procedure shall be used (in order as necessary) to determine the site of the game:

a) If one team was the winner of a Conference game between the two teams, it shall be the Championship Game host.

b) If a tie still exists, winning percentage against common Conference opponents shall determine the Championship Game host.

c) If a tie still exists, winning percentage against the next highest‐placed common opponent in the Conference based upon (in order): 1. order of finish in the respective divisions, 2. record in all Conference games, and 3. most recent composite of selected computer rankings, proceeding through the Conference, will break the tie.

d) Coin toss.

Divisional Tiebreakers

Divisional Champions. A divisional champion shall be the team with the highest winning percentage in all Conference games, both inter‐divisional and intra‐divisional, in the division. (Adopted January 2013)

a) Tie Games. A tie football game shall count as half‐a‐game won and half‐a‐game lost in the standings. (Editors note: why is this listed since games can't be a tie?)

[Note: A team ineligible under NCAA or Mountain West rules for post‐season (bowl) competition shall not
compete in the Championship Game.]

Tie Between Two Teams:

In the event of a percentage tie for a divisional championship between two teams, if one team was the
winner of the Conference game between the two teams, it shall be the divisional champion.  If no game was played between the two tied teams, or that game ended in a tie, the following comparison procedure shall be used to break the tie:

a) Winning percentage in games played within the division.

b) Winning percentage against the next highest‐placed team in the division (based upon the team's record in all games played in the Conference), proceeding through the division.

c) Winning percentage against common Conference opponents.

d) Highest CFP ranking (or the composite of selected computer rankings if neither team is ranked in the CFP rankings) following the final week of Conference regular‐season games.

e) Overall winning percentage against FBS opponents.

f) Coin toss.

Tie Between More Than Two Teams:

In the event of a percentage tie for a divisional championship between more than two teams, the following comparison procedure shall be used to eliminate all but two tied teams, at which point the two‐team tie‐breaking procedure shall be used:

a) Winning percentage in games played among the tied teams.

b) Winning percentage in games played against division opponents.

c) Winning percentage against the next highest‐placed team in the division (based upon the team's record in all games played in the Conference), proceeding through the division.

d) Winning percentage against common Conference opponents.

e) Highest CFP ranking (or the composite of selected computer rankings if neither team is ranked in the CFP rankings) following the final week of Conference regular‐season games.