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2020 Mountain West Football Schedule Will Get Weird
Not every team will play eight games
Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire
There will be non-conference games.
The Mountain West held a press conference regarding its anticipated return to playing college football and one of the questions was asked about the schedule.
The league initially said it would be an eight-game schedule but that might not actually be the case. Air Force is officially playing Navy on Oct. 3 and Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson confirmed that the Falcons are also playing Army, and that game is scheduled on Nov. 17. Righ there Air Force will be missing out on league games.
https://twitter.com/MWCwire/status/1309540812342976512
The schedule will be released soon but the Falcons are already looking like they will not be playing a full eight-game Mountain West slate, and it is impossible to do so as there is no room for a Mountain West team with Army on the schedule.
Boise State vs. BYU?
Another interesting wrinkle is that Boise State could also play one fewer game in league play and swap it for BYU. The Cougars and Broncos have a long-term contract and are sort of rivals.
It is not a done deal but something is possibly in the works for those two to play in 2020 according to Thompson.
This makes little to no sense to take away a conference game to play BYU, and of course, the Cougars are a team that left the Mountain West and there is still some bad blood between the schools BYU left behind.
Also, it makes no sense because playing BYU is nothing close to Air Force trying to play the Commander-In-Chief trophy. There will be few, if any fans, in games so why is BYU going to Boise State trying to become a thing since not much money will be had for home games.
https://twitter.com/BJRains/status/1309550913166569472
One would think the conference would take care of their own and not allow for a school to go off and schedule an opponent that is considered better than what is in the league. Plus, how does the conference determine what team does not play Boise State?
Maybe Boise State higher-ups are making a pitch for Boise State to play a potentially ranked BYU team to help the Broncos cause and get to a New Year’s Six game. Not sure about the rational about this.
No Room For Make Up Games
With the Mountain West going for eight games in eight weeks, there is no time for making up games. This will play an impact when deciding what team goes to the conference title game, but Thompson said it would be by winning percentage.
https://twitter.com/MWCwire/status/1309542487304761344
From what we have all seen in college football, there will be games with in the league that are not made up. As for what will force a game to no be played, that is still being worked out upon between the conference, schools, and local health officials.
With the likelihood of some games not being played, why is Boise State maybe able to get in a non-conference game? It would make sense to find the best way to determine a league champion the Mountain West would want as many games against its league as possible.
Also, this could lead to some weird results with teams playing five to eight games and that is why winning percentage will be the determining factor for order of finish or playing in the conference championship game.
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