Utah State bowl projections, round three: where might the Aggies go?

In what has become a college football version of “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?”, Utah State’s bowl fate is now out of hand. After a brutal 38-35 loss at Air Force, the Aggies stand at 6-6 and bowl eligible, but just.

The problem arises in that only 78 bowl slots exist this season, and already 79 teams have qualified for bowl eligibility, with another three teams still alive for the opportunity next week. It’s simple math, everybody. Someone’s going to be left out of the party, and USU isn’t safe.

The Mountain West

That isn’t to say that Utah State won’t go to a bowl game, just that Aggie fans should prepare for the possibility. There are still plenty of other media members throughout the nation that expect to see Utah State football one more time this year.

Jeremy Mauss, Mountain West Wire

Arizona Bowl

Tucson, Arizona, December 29

Utah State vs Georgia State

Jason Kirk, SB Nation

No bowl for Utah State

Bryan Fischer, NBC Sports

Arizona Bowl

Tucson, Arizona, December 29

Utah State vs New Mexico State

CollegeSportsMadness.com

Birmingham Bowl

Birmingham, Alabama, December 23

Utah State vs UAB

CollegeFootballNews.com

Hawaii Bowl

Honolulu, Hawaii, December 24

Utah State vs SMU

Brant Parsons, Orlando Sentinel

Frisco Bowl

Frisco, Texas, December 20

Utah State vs Houston

Kyle Bonagura, ESPN

Foster Farms Bowl

Santa Clara, California, December 27

Utah State vs Washington State

David Hale, ESPN

No bowl for Utah State

Jerry Palms, CBS Sports

Foster Farms Bowl

Santa Clara, California, December 27

Utah State vs Washington State

Steven Lassan, AthlonSports.com

No bowl for Utah State

Eric Single, Sports Illustrated

New Mexico Bowl

Albuquerque, New Mexico, December 16

Utah State vs UT-San Antonio

11 projections, three of which show the Aggies on the outside looking in. That’s probably in the ballpark of Utah State’s actual chances of missing out on a bowl game. The Mountain West only maintains five bowl tie-ins this year, but has six bowl eligible teams. Thus why four bowl projections feature the Aggies in a bowl game usually uninvolved with the MW.

Already, bowls are starting to reach out to teams, as most bowls will be unaffected by conference championships and the Playoff, and are free to contract teams if possible. The Bahamas Bowl is reported to feature a UAB vs Ohio matchup. More announcements will filter out over the coming days and weeks. Aggie fans may be slightly despondent until seeing Utah State’s name involved in one of them.