alt=Jay DrewPROVO — Barring some last-minute wheeling-and-dealing by conference commissioners or the highly unlikely possibility of Mountain West champion Boise State leapfrogging American Athletic Conference champ Memphis in the College Football Playoff rankings, BYU’s opponent in the SoFi Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve at Aloha Stadium will be the hometown Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.
An official announcement will come Sunday afternoon.
Hawaii (9-5) had a chance to defeat No. 19 Boise State in the MW championship game on the blue turf of Albertsons Stadium Saturday afternoon and earn an invitation to the Las Vegas Bowl, but lost 31-10 to the Broncos (12-1), whose only loss was to BYU (7-5).
Theoretically, Hawaii could still slide into the MW’s contracted spot in the Las Vegas Bowl if Boise State is the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion when the final rankings are released Sunday morning on ESPN. However, No. 17 Memphis (12-1) downed No. 20 Cincinnati 29-24 in the AAC championship game Saturday and almost certainly will get the bid to the Cotton Bowl Classic.
Then again, Memphis coach Mike Norvell is expected to be named the head coach at Florida State on Sunday morning, a development that could cause the playoff committee to think twice about putting the Tigers into a lucrative New Year’s Six bowl game.
That would be a shocker, however. Boise State, which has won the MW title in 2012, 2014, 2017 and now 2019, is almost certainly headed to Las Vegas, where it might face former BSU coach Chris Petersen and the Washington Huskies. Petersen announced earlier in the week that he is stepping down at UW after the season.
If BSU doesn’t get the Cotton Bowl bid, its 28-25 loss to BYU on Oct. 19 will essentially cost the school and its conference an estimated $6.5 million payday.
If Hawaii is the Hawaii Bowl pick, as expected, it won’t be the first time the Cougars will play a team on its home field in a bowl game. BYU beat San Diego State 23-6 in the 2012 Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego.
Hawaii would be playing at Aloha Stadium for the ninth time this season. The Rainbow Warriors are 6-2 there, having defeated Arizona, Oregon State, Central Arkansas, San Jose State, San Diego State and Army at home. They lost to Fresno State (41-38) and Air Force (56-26) at home.
To a man, BYU coaches and players have said they don’t have a preference for their bowl opponent, even if it is a team playing on its home field, which will make the bowl game resemble a road contest.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake. “I trust the bowl game will choose a great opponent. Just looking forward to that matchup. … Yeah, there are a lot of really good teams out there that we could face. Just thankful that we have the opportunity to play in the game.”
The Cougars practiced three times last week without knowing who they will face on Dec. 24 on ESPN.
“No preference at all, man,” said backup quarterback Jaren Hall, who is close to being cleared from concussion protocol. “No matter who you play, you gotta show up and bring your ‘A’ game.”
Senior receiver Talon Shumway said getting the opportunity to play in a bowl game in Hawaii in December offsets any other inconveniences, such as the date or opponent.
“We’re just thankful,” Shumway said. “If our opponent ends up being Hawaii, great. If it isn’t Hawaii, that’s fine, too. We are playing in a bowl game, so it is all good.”
Daryl Garvin, executive director of the SoFi Hawaii Bowl, appeared on BYUtv’s BYU Sports Nation show on Friday and said Hawaii wasn’t a lock to play in the game if it were to lose Saturday, which it did. Asked if it could be a Mountain West team not named Hawaii, Garvin said no.
“There’s always a possibility, but I don’t think so,” he said.
He listed AAC schools SMU, Navy, Cincinnati, Central Florida and Temple as bowl-eligible teams that could make their way to Hawaii if the improbable happens.