Mountain West: Boise State, UNLV in title game, San Jose State left out
San Jose State’s remarkable pursuit to return to the Mountain West Conference championship game fell just short Sunday morning, as the computer polls used to break a three-way tie left the Spartans as the odd-team out.
UNLV, the team San Jose State beat 37-31 on the road on Saturday for its sixth straight victory, will play host to Boise State next Saturday to determine the MW champion.
In the end, UNLV had a 44.50 computer average to comfortably secure one spot. San Jose State was at 58.50, significantly closing the gap on Boise State from the previous week, but the Broncos were able to hold on to second slot with a 55.75 average.
“I’m subjectively disappointed,” said SJSU athletic director Jeff Konya in a phone interview with Bay Area News Group. “I subjectively think we’re one of the best two teams in the league. There’s no easy way to break a three-way tie and unfortunately for us we were the odd person out.”
This doesn’t end San Jose State’s season. With a 7-5 overall record, the team will be playing in a bowl game for the second year in a row. Head coach Brent Brennan is the first coach in SJSU history to lead SJSU to three bowl games in four years.
The unusual selection process for the Mountain West championship game was the result of the Spartans, Broncos and Runnin’ Rebels all finishing with 6-2 conference records and none of the usual tie-breaking processes being applicable.
The MW, which abandoned divisions this season, couldn’t use the College Football Playoff rankings because none of the three teams are ranked. And head-to-head results couldn’t break the tie – San Jose State beat UNLV and lost to Boise State, and BSU and UNLV did not meet this season.
So league officials used the average of the Anderson & Hester, Colley Matrix, Massey, and Wolfe rankings to break the tie. Only the Wolfe ranking system had SJSU higher than Boise State.
Entering the weekend, UNLV (which is 9-2 overall) held a big lead with a 34.75 average score, followed by Boise State (64) and San Jose State (71.25). SJSU has been playing catchup all season, starting 1-5 after a demanding start that included games against No. 15 Oregon State, No. 23 Toledo and opening at then-No. 6 USC.
SJSU hasn’t lost since it blew a 27-7 halftime lead at Boise State in an eventual 35-27 loss back on Oct. 7.
San Jose State was vying for its second appearance in the MW title game since 2020, when it defeated Boise State.
If the numbers had gone SJSU’s way, the Spartans would have played host to UNLV for the Mountain West Championship.
Now, SJSU and its fans must wait until Selection Sunday on Dec. 3 to find out its bowl game destination and opponent.
