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Race For Inaugural Mountain West Football Title Continues
BYU loss keeps three others in hunt for championship.
Nov. 14, 1999
Colorado Springs, Colo.‹BYU (8-2, 5-1) will claim at least a share of the Mountain West Conference title. With its 31-17 loss at Wyoming Saturday, three other teams remain alive in the race. BYU can win the title outright with a win over Utah this Saturday in Provo and would represent the Mountain West Conference in the AXA Liberty Bowl. The Cougars would face the winner of the Louisville-Southern Mississippi game, which will be played at Louisville on Saturday, November 20. Louisville enters the game 7-3 overall, 4-1 in Conference USA. Southern Mississippi is 7-3 overall and 5-0 in the conference. Utah (7-3, 4-2) has sole possession of second place in the MWC, with its final game at BYU this Saturday. A Utah win would give the Utes¹ a share of the title. A BYU win would eliminate Utah from a share of the championship. Colorado State (6-3, 3-2) and Wyoming (6-3, 3-2) are tied for third place in the MWC. Both teams have two games remaining and would need to win out. CSU and Wyoming would also need Utah to defeat BYU this Saturday in order to be in contention. The Rams host Air Force (7-3, 2-3) on Thursday, November 18 at 6 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN. Their final game is at UNLV (3-6, 1-4/7th tie) on November 27. The Cowboys host New Mexico (3-6, 2-3/5th tie) on Nov. 20 and play at San Diego State (3-6, 1-4/7th tie) on Nov. 27. One or both bowl selections could be announced as early as Saturday, November 20 and as late as Tuesday, November 30, depending on the outcome of upcoming games. The AXA Liberty Bowl has the first selection and can choose from the pool of conference champions. The bowl committee factors in the MWC tie-breaker, which is head-to-head competition then the higher ranked team in the latest BCS standings. However, the bowl has the option to select its participating team based on overall record and other relevant information. The EA Sports Las Vegas Bowl has the option to take a co-champion that the Liberty Bowl passes on, a second-place team or another bowl-eligible MWC team of its choice. Bowl Schedule:
AXA Liberty Bowl
EA Sports Las Vegas Bowl
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