Nov. 22, 1999

PROVO — They spent most of the season beating up on Mountain West Conference opponents and appeared ticketed for the Liberty Bowl. But now the 8-3 BYU Cougars are staring at a very uncertain postseason future.

Following Saturday's 20-17 loss to Utah, their second setback in a row, the Cougars dropped out of the top 25 rankings. They have to share the Mountain West Conference championship with Utah and, if Colorado State (at UNLV) and Wyoming (at San Diego State) win their games this weekend, the MWC will conclude its inaugural season with a four-way tie for the title. That would leave Liberty Bowl officials with a tough decision.

Despite the Cougars' late-season meltdown, the Liberty Bowl — and the Las Vegas Bowl — say they are still interested in BYU.

But the Cougars will have to wait a week before knowing where they will be spending the holiday season. BYU could stay home.

"A bowl game would be exciting," said cornerback Brian Gray. "It would be a chance to be rewarded as a team, to spend time together and have fun. Hopefully we'll be invited."

Athletic director Val Hale spoke to representatives of both bowls Sunday. He, like the other three ADs in the mix, are lobbying hard for their schools.

Here are the possible scenarios as the Cougars await what they hope will be their 22nd bowl game in 26 years:

• Liberty Bowl (Dec. 31). Officials have first choice of the conference co-champs but won't decide until Nov. 29 or 30, after CSU and Wyoming conclude their seasons. Their selection will face No. 12 Southern Mississippi, the Conference USA champion.

Having played in Memphis last year, some BYU players publicly bad-mouthed the game earlier this season, saying they would prefer to go to a higher-echelon bowl. Suddenly the Liberty Bowl doesn't seem so bad. But a two-game losing streak won't help the Cougar cause. BYU is the MWC's marquee team in terms of drawing television viewers and selling tickets. Few of the MWC teams' fans are likely to travel all the way to Memphis, but BYU appears to be most attractive because of the potential of LDS Church members in the South who might attend the game.

If the Liberty Bowl bases its decision solely on the team presently playing the best football, it would probably opt for Colorado State, which, if it defeats UNLV Saturday, will have won six straight games.

• Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 18). Officials must wait until after the Liberty Bowl's selection to choose its opponent for Fresno State from the Western Athletic Conference.

Both BYU and Utah would be a logical fit here. Because of their close proximity to Vegas, the schools would likely bring a lot of fans. The Utes could have an edge over the Cougars, though. First, they beat BYU. Second, they were strongly considered for the Las Vegas Bowl last season but lost out to San Diego State. Perhaps the bowl committee feels a sense of obligation to Utah.

Whether it's BYU or Utah, it could be an intriguing matchup. Fresno State is still bitter about being left out of the MWC and would love nothing more than a crack at the Cougars or Utes.

CSU could be an unlikely selection for this bowl since the Rams already lost to the Bulldogs earlier this year and finish their regular season at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. On the other hand, CSU fans have already pledged to buy 8,000 tickets if their team is invited to Las Vegas.

• Motor City Bowl (Dec. 27). A couple of Internet web sites, cnnsi.com and cbssportsline.com, project BYU traveling to Detroit for this game as an at-large team, if both the Liberty and Las Vegas pass over the Cougars.

The automatic bid goes to the winner of the Mid-American Conference, either Marshall (ranked No. 12 and undefeated) or Western Michigan. They meet in the MAC Championship game Dec. 4. Other at-large possibilities, in addition to BYU, include Louisiana Tech, 9-2 and ranked No. 25 with a game this week at Southern Cal, and Pittsburgh, which must defeat West Virginia to become bowl eligible.

And to think that it was once all so simple and clear a couple of weeks ago. All BYU had to do was beat either Wyoming or Utah to claim the title and return to the Liberty Bowl.

"We didn't finish too strong," said linebacker Rob Morris. "But the bowls know who's exciting."

Well, the Cougar offense has been anything but exciting in recent weeks. Without a rushing attack, once-mighty BYU has looked mediocre as of late. However, the Cougars would likely have freshman running back Luke Staley back for a bowl.