Aztecs bowl watch: Another trip to Tucson?

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The Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl is played in Tucson on the home field of the Arizona Wildcats. It corresponds to a team from the Mountain West with one from the Mid-American Conference.

The San Diego State soccer team visited Arizona Stadium in week 2 of the season and came home with a 38-14 win over the Wildcats.

Will the Aztecs have another trip to Tucson at the end of the season?

Could be. Of the Mountain West’s five bowl tie-ins, the Arizona Bowl appears to be the most likely landing spot for the Aztecs right now.

Four games remain in the regular season for SDSU – Hawaii (Saturday night), Nevada (November 13), UNLV (November 19) and Boise State (November 26) – so the Aztecs could improve their lot in life.

SDSU had the inside track to a place in the Mountain West Championship where the winner will be invited to the first Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl a week ago.

Last week’s 30:20 loss to Fresno State (7-2, 4-1 MW) put Bulldogs # 23 ahead of SDSU # 24 (7-1, 3-1) in the conference’s West Division rankings moved so that the Aztecs’ bowl scenario has changed dramatically.

Two reasons SDSU is known for the Arizona Bowl is the school’s proximity to the venue, which makes it more attractive for fans to travel to, and the fact that the Aztecs have never played the bowl.

SDSU only played in the New Mexico Bowl two years ago, where the Aztecs defeated Central Michigan. This is so timely that another MW team would be more attractive to the organizers of the bowl in Albuquerque.

The Aztecs who defeated Cincinnati in the 2015 Hawaii Bowl are playing the Rainbows in Honolulu this week, which could lead Hawaii Bowl officials to bring them back seven weeks later.

SDSU hasn’t been to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl since defeating Buffalo in 2013. At this point, however, it makes more sense for Boise, Idaho organizers to bring along a Mountain Division team such as the Utah State or Air Force.

As for a potential Arizona Bowl opponent, the MAC currently has two Bowl-eligible teams – Eastern Michigan (6-3) and Northern Illinois (6-3) with three others – Ball State (5-4), Central Michigan (5th -4) and Kent State (5-4) – one win away from joining them.

Nevada was in the last two Idaho Bowls, so the Wolf Pack will definitely go elsewhere.

SDSU fans should watch out for the Boise State-Fresno State game on Saturday, which starts at 4pm on the CBS Sports Network. Losing the Bulldogs would put the SDSU back in control of their fate when the Aztecs win in Hawaii later that evening.

Current status: So far, 36 teams are entitled to bowl for 82 places. The ranks will soon swell with 24 more teams just one win away.

Selection Sunday: Bowl matches were announced on ESPN on December 5th.

Bowl-eligible teams from Mountain West: Air Force (6-2), No. 23 Fresno State (7-2), Nevada (6-2), No. 24 SDSU (7-1) and Utah State (6-2.)).

Others with eligibility in mind: San Jose State (5-4), Boise State (4-4), Wyoming (4-4), and Hawaii (4-5). Note: The Rainbows require seven wins as they play a 13 game schedule.

Mountain West Bowl Tie-Ins: New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 18 vs. C-USA), Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl (Dec. 31 vs. Pac-12), Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Dec. 21 vs. MAC .); Hawaii Bowl (December 24 vs. AAC); Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl (December 31st vs. MAC).

MW Backup Agreement: Frisco Bowl (December 21, with AAC, C-USA, MAC, Sun Belt).

Wildcards: An opening in another game where a conference fails to meet its obligation or is shuffled by ESPN (which owns 17 of the bowl games) to create the desired matchups.

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