The Colorado State Rams are locked in a battle with the Utah State Aggies in Week 14. Fighting for a spot in the Mountain West Championship Game, the Rams don’t quite have the distinction of controlling their own destiny.
However, the road map may just be that simple for their berth in the Mountain West Championship Game Scenarios.
Colorado State’s Mountain West Championship Chances
Entering Week 14, the Rams had a 26.21% chance to win the Mountain West. The CFN College Football Playoff Predictor gave Colorado State a heavy chance at knocking off Utah State but ultimately saw them falling to Boise State in the title game more often than not.
If the Rams knock off the Aggies, they’re not quite in the game, but they are guaranteed to at least head to tiebreakers for their spot in the Mountain West Championship Game.
Colorado State would then await UNLV’s results in Week 14. The Rebels play Nevada at 8:00 pm ET on Saturday night in Week 14, meaning the Rams would have to wait over 24 hours for their destiny to be fulfilled.
But they would need a very specific result to get to the Mountain West championship.
How Can Colorado State Make the Mountain West Championship Game?
First things first, as stated above, they have to beat Utah State. By doing so, the Rams would clinch at least a second-place finish in the Mountain West.
However, the tiebreakers are set to go to UNLV in this case. If UNLV wins against Nevada, both the Rebels and Rams would be tied with a 6-1 record in conference play. The tiebreakers for the Mountain West start with head-to-head results, of which, these two teams did not play.
After head-to-head, the tiebreaker then moves to higher ranking in the College Football Playoffs.
Currently, UNLV is ranked No. 22 and with a win, would surely see their ranking increase or at the very least, stay stagnant. That means UNLV would be in by virtue of a higher ranking than Colorado State.
If UNLV loses and Colorado State wins, the tiebreakers are not needed, as CSU would be the own the second place finish themselves. But if both teams lose, then it would come down to how high each team finds themselves in the rankings, if at all.
The third tiebreaking scenario is composite computer ranking, which would still likely put UNLV in the title game.
So, with all this at hand, the only way Colorado State can make the Mountain West Championship Game is a very specific way.
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For CSU to make the MWC Championship, these results would be necessary:
- Colorado State win over Utah State
- UNLV loss to Nevada
If either option happens, Colorado State will essentially be eliminated.
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