Boise State and San Jose State will play next week for the Mountain West championship.
They are staggered but still standing after an eight-week series of challenges in the Mountain West — as with every conference across the country — that were more demanding than anything anyone could have come up with on “Survivor.”
Only two of the conference’s 12 teams — Nevada and Hawaii — played all eight games on their schedule, although not without some site changes.
Two other teams — Air Force and Colorado State — managed to play only four conference games.
Nine other schools played six games and another played seven. That would be New Mexico, which played seven straight weeks after its season opener was canceled because of COVID-19 circumstances not within the Lobos program but within the county and state.
To do it, the Lobos ended up moving their base of operations to Las Vegas because practices and games were not allowed in Albuquerque.
Sam Boyd Stadium, which was expected to be vacant this season with UNLV relocating to Allegiant Stadium, still hosted more games (four) than almost any other venue.
San Jose State joined New Mexico there for “home” games when Santa Clara County shut down athletic activity two weeks ago.
So there was a rare Friday/Saturday double-header at Sam Boyd this weekend to conclude the regular season. Neither game involved the Rebels.
Colorado State had the worst luck of anyone, watching four of eight games scrubbed from the schedule. Only one of them was because of coronavirus issues within the Rams program.
CSU’s first contest was canceled because of issues at New Mexico. It’s last game was canceled because of issues at Utah State.
Amazingly, for all that has gone on this year, the Aggies’ issues had nothing to do with COVID-19.
Utah State players opted out in protest over what they perceived to be religious discrimination while a search was conducted for a new head coach.
The players’ protest stemmed from comments made by Utah State President Noelle Cockett regarding interim head coach Frank Maile.
“I am devastated that my comments were interpreted as bias against anyone’s religious background,” Cockett said in a statement.
Did we mention that the coaching search came after Aggies head coach Gary Andersen — hired back for a second stint at the school just last year — was fired after an 0-3 start that included a 38-7 loss to SDSU?
The Aztecs vacated SDCCU Stadium before the season even started and relocated to Carson’s Dignity Health Sports Park, where things went off without either a hitch or fans.
SDSU was one of only 10 teams to play each of the seven previous weeks, although it took some doing to do so. The biggest challenge for the Aztecs came three weeks ago when Fresno State canceled because of COVID, sending SDSU AD John David Wicker on a week-long search for an opponent.
SDSU played a nonconference game at Colorado in a game announced on Thanksgiving night, less than 48 hours before kickoff.
All this to play through a pandemic after a season postponed to the spring was resurrected for a truncated fall run.
Individual and team meetings mostly on Zoom, a platform no one was aware of a year ago at this time.
Social-distanced practices over the summer and into the fall.
Testing several times a week for COVID-19, where players and coaches held their collective breath. They waited to exhale each time, not only praying for a negative result but also hoping they wouldn’t get caught up in contact tracing because of someone who popped up positive.
Was it all worth it?
Ask the Spartans (6-0), who are making their first appearance in the Mountain West title game during the school’s best start since the 1939 Spartans went 13-0.
San Jose State rallied from a 20-7 halftime deficit against Nevada, scooping up four Wolf Pack fumbles in the second half on the way to a 30-20 win.
“This team is amazing the way they continue to find ways to overcome and fight through struggle,” San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan said in a postgame press conference.
A conference doormat since joining the Mountain West in 2013, suddenly San Jose State has something to celebrate.
After rushing for 184 yards and one touchdown against Nevada, Spartans running back Tyler Nevens said: “We’re doing things that other teams have never done before. Our struggles that we’ve gone (through) throughout the season shaped us.”
MW bowl picture
The Mountain West champion was supposed to play a Pac-12 opponent in the inaugural LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium.
The 2020 LA Bowl was canceled on Monday, however, so the conference champion will be redirected to the Arizona Bowl, which is New Year’s Eve.
That’s plenty of time for the champion to prepare for a bowl game.
There are two options for the MW runner-up for bowls with conference tie-ins — the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Dec. 22) and the New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 24).
The Potato Bowl is out given that it’s a three-day turnaround. Nevada (6-2) is anticipated to get an invitation to Idaho. A Potato Bowl spokesperson said the matchup is expected to be announced Sunday or Monday.
The New Mexico Bowl also is expected to name one of its participants within the next two days, although a spokesperson said the Mountain West team won’t be revealed until after the conference’s Dec. 19 championship game.
Apparently, five days is enough time to prepare for a bowl game given what’s gone on this year.
Whether it is Boise State or San Jose State making travel arrangements next week, it needs to be mindful that the New Mexico Bowl has been moved to Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, because of ongoing coronavirus issues in Albuquerque.
And so it goes.
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