The computers have made their decision: Boise State will face UNLV in the Mountain West championship game.
The conference announced that the Rebels would host the Broncos on Saturday afternoon for the conference title after invoking computer rankings to decide a three-way tiebreaker. UNLV, Boise State and San Jose State were all tied at 6-2 atop the conference standings after San Jose State beat UNLV and Boise State beat Air Force in the final week of the season.
The Mountain West went to the computer tiebreaker because all three teams didn’t play each other in the regular season. While Boise State beat San Jose State, the Broncos and Rebels didn’t play each other in the regular season.
The conference said that it used computer rankings from Anderson & Hester, Colley Matrix and Massey and Wolfe to determine its tiebreakers in this scenario. UNLV’s average computer ranking was 44.5, while Boise State’s was 55.75 and San Jose State’s was 58.5.
It’s the first time the Mountain West has needed to invoke a tiebreaker like this for its championship game. The conference got rid of divisions ahead of the 2022 season. Previous iterations of the title game featured the champions of the West and Mountain divisions.
UNLV finished the season at 9-3 overall with a non-conference loss to Michigan. Both Boise State and San Jose State ended the regular season at 7-5. The Broncos lost to Washington, UCF and Memphis in non-conference play. SJSU lost to USC, Oregon State and Toledo.
It’s an unfortunate break for the Spartans after they closed the season on a tear. SJSU won its final six games after the Boise State loss and beat three bowl-eligible teams in the process. The Spartans beat UNLV 37-31 on Saturday after jumping out to a 20-7 lead in the first half.
Boise State, meanwhile, heads to the conference title game with an interim coach. Boise fired coach Andy Avalos when the team was 5-5 overall. The Broncos ended the regular season under interim coach Spencer Danielson with wins over New Mexico and Air Force.
UNLV is a MWC title game participant for the first time as it looks for its first 10-win season since 1984. The Rebels have been one of the surprise teams of the season under former Missouri coach Barry Odom.
The Rebels’ home game also means that Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas will host two conference title games in less than 24 hours. Friday night, Washington and Oregon will play for the Pac-12 title, hours before UNLV and Boise State kick off at Noon PT.