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College football championship game From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game is an annual postseason college football game played to determine the champion of the Mountain West Conference (MW).
| Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game | |
|---|---|
| |
| Sport | College football |
| Conference | Mountain West Conference |
| Current stadium | Hosted by top regular-season team (see below) |
| Current location | Varies by year |
| Played | 2013–present |
| Last contest | 2023 |
| Current champion | Boise State Broncos |
| Most championships | Boise State (4) |
| TV partner(s) | Fox/FS1 |
| Official website | League Site |
| Sponsors | |
| Hampton by Hilton | |
From 1999 to 2012, the champion of the Mountain West was determined by regular season record. Beginning in 2013, following the expansion to twelve members and the division of the conference into Mountain and West Divisions, the conference championship game was held between the two division winners. The Mountain West is one of four conferences to have its championship game at a campus site, along with the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, and the Sun Belt Conference.
The most recent 2022 championship game was the last to feature division winners. On May 20, 2022, the MW announced that it would eliminate its football divisions effective with the 2023 season, instead sending the top two teams in the conference standings to the title game.[1] Two days earlier, the NCAA Division I Council had approved a rule change that gave all FBS conferences full freedom to determine the participants in their football championship games.[2]
The inaugural MW Championship Game was played on December 7, 2013, at Fresno State's Bulldog Stadium and televised by CBS.[3]
The Mountain West Conference champion customarily receives a berth to play in the Las Vegas Bowl. However, if the MW champion finishes ranked ahead of the champions from the other "Group of Five" mid-major conferences (American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, MAC, and Sun Belt) by the selection committee of the College Football Playoff, it is guaranteed a berth in one of the non-semifinal "New Year's Six" bowls. If the conference champion is the highest ranked among group of 5 conference champions, the conference champion will play in the national championship playoff.
Membership reflects changes that took effect with the 2013 season.
| Air Force | Fresno State |
| Boise State | Hawaii |
| Colorado State | Nevada |
| New Mexico | San Diego State |
| Utah State | San Jose State |
| Wyoming | UNLV |
| Season | Champion(s) | Conf. record |
Overall record |
Bowl result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Utah | 5–2 | 9–3 | Won Las Vegas Bowl |
| BYU | 5–2 | 8–4 | Lost Motor City Bowl | |
| Colorado State | 5–2 | 8–4 | Lost Liberty Bowl | |
| 2000 | No. 14 Colorado State | 6–1 | 10–2 | Won Liberty Bowl |
| 2001 | No. 25 BYU | 7–0 | 12–2 | Lost Liberty Bowl |
| 2002 | Colorado State | 6–1 | 10–4 | Lost Liberty Bowl |
| 2003 | No. 21 Utah | 6–1 | 10–2 | Won Liberty Bowl |
| 2004 | No. 4 Utah | 7–0 | 12–0 | Won Fiesta Bowl |
| 2005 | No. 11 TCU | 8–0 | 11–1 | Won Houston Bowl |
| 2006 | No. 16 BYU | 8–0 | 11–2 | Won Las Vegas Bowl |
| 2007 | No. 14 BYU | 8–0 | 11–2 | Won Las Vegas Bowl |
| 2008 | No. 2 Utah | 8–0 | 13–0 | Won Sugar Bowl |
| 2009 | No. 6 TCU | 8–0 | 12–1 | Lost Fiesta Bowl |
| 2010 | No. 2 TCU | 8–0 | 13–0 | Won Rose Bowl |
| 2011 | No. 14 TCU | 7–0 | 11–2 | Won Poinsettia Bowl |
| 2012 | No. 18 Boise State | 7–1 | 11–2 | Won Maaco Bowl Las Vegas |
| Fresno State | 7–1 | 9–4 | Lost Hawaii Bowl | |
| San Diego State | 7–1 | 9–4 | Lost Poinsettia Bowl | |
| Total | 18 bowl games | 11 wins, 7 losses | ||
Final AP Poll rankings shown.
Below are the results from all Mountain West Conference Football Championship Games played. The winning team appears in bold font, on a background of their primary team color. Rankings are from the AP Poll released prior to the game.
| Year | West | Mountain | Site | Attendance | MVP | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 24 Fresno State Bulldogs | 24 | Utah State Aggies | 17 | Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA | 31,362 | QB Derek Carr, Fresno State |
| 2014 | Fresno State Bulldogs | 14 | 22 Boise State Broncos | 28 | Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID | 26,101 | Offensive: QB Grant Hedrick, Boise State Defensive: MLB Tanner Vallejo, Boise State |
| 2015 | San Diego State Aztecs | 27 | Air Force Falcons | 24 | Qualcomm Stadium • San Diego, CA | 20,959 | Offensive: QB Christian Chapman, San Diego State Defensive: S Na'im McGee, San Diego State |
| 2016 | San Diego State Aztecs | 27 | Wyoming Cowboys | 24 | War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY | 24,001 | Offensive: RB Rashaad Penny, San Diego State Defensive: S Damontae Kazee, San Diego State |
| 2017 | 25 Fresno State Bulldogs | 14 | Boise State Broncos | 17 | Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID | 24,515 | Offensive: QB Brett Rypien, Boise State Defensive: LB Leighton Vander Esch, Boise State |
| 2018 | 25 Fresno State Bulldogs | 19 | 19 Boise State Broncos | 16OT | 23,662 | Offensive: RB Alexander Mattison, Boise State Defensive: DE Mykal Walker, Fresno State | |
| 2019 | Hawaii Rainbow Warriors | 10 | 19 Boise State Broncos | 31 | 23,561 | Offensive: QB Jaylon Henderson, Boise State Defensive: DT Sonatane Lui, Boise State | |
| Year | No. 1 seed | No. 2 seed | Site | Attendance | MVP | ||
| 2020 | 25 San Jose State Spartans | 34 | Boise State Broncos | 20 | Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, NV | 0† | Offensive: QB Nick Starkel, San Jose State[4] Defensive: DE Cade Hall, San Jose State |
| Year | West | Mountain | Site | Attendance | MVP | ||
| 2021 | 19 San Diego State Aztecs | 13 | Utah State Aggies | 46 | Dignity Health Sports Park • Carson, CA | 13,445 | Offensive: QB Logan Bonner, Utah State Defensive: DE Byron Vaughns, Utah State |
| 2022 | Fresno State Bulldogs | 28 | Boise State Broncos | 16 | Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID | 24,037 | Offensive: QB Jake Haener, Fresno State Defensive: DB Cam Lockridge, Fresno State |
| Year | No. 1 seed | No. 2 seed | Site | Attendance | MVP | ||
| 2023 | UNLV Rebels | 20 | Boise State Broncos | 44 | Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV | 31,473 | Offensive: Taylen Green, Boise State Defensive: Alexander Teuber, Boise State |
| 2024 | Boise State Broncos | TBA | |||||
† Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 game was played behind closed doors without fans.[5]
| Games | School | W | L | Pct | Titles | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Boise State Broncos | 4 | 3 | .571 | 2014, 2017, 2019, 2023 | 2018, 2020, 2022 |
| 5 | Fresno State Bulldogs | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2013, 2018, 2022 | 2014, 2017 |
| 3 | San Diego State Aztecs | 2 | 1 | .667 | 2015, 2016 | 2021 |
| 2 | Utah State Aggies | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2021 | 2013 |
| 1 | San Jose State Spartans | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2020 | |
| 1 | Air Force Falcons | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2015 | |
| 1 | Wyoming Cowboys | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2016 | |
| 1 | Hawaii Rainbow Warriors | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2019 | |
| 1 | UNLV Rebels | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2023 |
The Tiebreaking procedures for both selection for the Championship game and determination of the host for the 2023 Season are as follows.[6]
This procedure is used until two teams remain tied, then the two-team tiebreaker procedures will be used.
Once the tie is reduced to two teams, then the two-team tiebreaker is used.
The team with the best conference record hosts the championship game. The tiebreaker procedure for determining which teams are selected for the championship game also serves as the tiebreaking procedure for determining who is the host.
The team with the best conference record hosts the championship game. Before 2023, the division champion with the better conference record hosted the game. If the teams have the same record, the following tie-breaking procedure is used:[7]
From 2013 to 2017, the division champion with the higher College Football Playoff ranking going into the final week of regular season was designated as the host school unless it lost its final regular season game. If the latter occurred, or neither team was ranked in the latest available College Football Playoff rankings, then the following procedure was used:[8]
This procedure was discontinued after the 2017 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game after Boise State was selected to host the game despite having the same conference record as their opponent Fresno State and losing to Fresno State during the regular season.
| Team | Record, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Most points scored (one team) | 46, Utah State vs. San Diego State | 2021 |
| Most points scored (losing team) | 24, Air Force vs. San Diego State Wyoming vs. San Diego State |
2015 2016 |
| Fewest points scored (winning team) | 17, Boise State vs. Fresno State | 2017 |
| Fewest points scored | 10, Hawaii vs. Boise State | 2019 |
| Most points scored (both teams) | 64, Boise State (44) vs. UNLV (20) | 2023 |
| Fewest points scored (both teams) | 31, Boise State (17) vs. Fresno State (14) | 2017 |
| Most points scored in a half | 32, Utah State (2nd half) vs. San Diego State | 2021 |
| Most points scored in a half (both teams) | 48, Boise State vs. UNLV (1st half) | 2023 |
| Largest margin of victory | 33, Utah State (46) vs. San Diego State (13) | 2021 |
| Smallest margin of victory | 3, San Diego State (27) vs. Air Force (24) San Diego State (27) vs. Wyoming (24) Boise State (17) vs. Fresno State (14) Fresno State (19) vs. Boise State (16) |
2015 2016 2017 2018 |
| Total yards | 527, Boise State (226 passing, 301 rushing) vs. UNLV | 2023 |
| Rushing yards | 305, Air Force vs. San Diego State | 2015 |
| Passing yards | 453, San Jose State vs. Boise State | 2020 |
| First downs | 26, San Jose State vs. Boise State | 2020 |
| Fewest yards allowed | 258, San Jose State vs. Boise State (221 passing, 37 rushing) | 2020 |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | 37, San Jose State vs. Boise State | 2020 |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | 35, San Diego State vs. Air Force | 2015 |
| Individual | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| Total Offense | 437, Nick Starkel, San Jose State vs. Boise State | 2020 |
| Touchdowns (all-purpose) | 4, shared by: Logan Bonner, Utah State vs. San Diego State Taylen Green, Boise State vs. UNLV | 2021, 2023 |
| Rushing yards | 200, Alexander Mattison, Boise State vs. Fresno State | 2018 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 3, Timothy McVey, Air Force vs. San Diego State | 2015 |
| Passing yards | 453, Nick Starkel, San Jose State vs. Boise State | 2020 |
| Passing touchdowns | 4, Logan Bonner, Utah State vs. San Diego State | 2021 |
| Receiving yards | 168, Davante Adams, Fresno State vs. Utah State | 2013 |
| Receiving touchdowns | 2, Brandon Bowling, Utah State vs. San Diego State | 2021 |
| Tackles | 16, Leighton Vander Esch, Boise State vs. Fresno State | 2017 |
| Sacks | 2, shared by seven players, most recent: Cade Hall, San Jose State vs. Boise State | 2020 |
| Interceptions | 2, shared by: Brian Suite, Utah State vs. Fresno State Damontae Kazee, San Diego State vs. Wyoming | 2013 2016 |
| Long Plays | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| Touchdown run | 70, Taylen Green, Boise State vs. UNLV | 2023 |
| Touchdown pass | 58, Brandon Bowling from Logan Bonner, Utah State vs. San Diego State | 2021 |
| Kickoff return | 75, Rashaad Penny, San Diego State vs. Wyoming | 2016 |
| Punt return | 69, Avery Williams, Boise State vs. San Jose State | 2020 |
| Interception return | 63, Tanner Vallejo, Boise State vs. Fresno State | 2014 |
| Fumble return | 86, Jake Doughty, Utah State vs. Fresno State | 2013 |
| Punt | 75, Tanner Blain, San Diego State vs. Wyoming | 2016 |
| Field goal | 51, shared by: Jonah Dalmas, Boise State vs. San Jose State Jose Pizano, UNLV vs. Boise State | 2020, 2023 |
| Miscellaneous | Record, Team vs. Team | Year |
| Game attendance | 31,473, UNLV vs. Boise State | 2023 |
Source:[9]
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