It's a big weekend for the Mountain West, as the league's big showcase game is here: TCU and Boise State meet in Boise on Saturday afternoon with all sorts of conference and bowl implications on the line. The Horned Frogs are in more of a spoiler role this year after two early-season losses have them out of the BCS standings completely, but a knockout of Boise and a stranglehold on the conference title wouldn't be bad consolations.
Elsewhere, Colorado State and UNLV are desperate for wins to keep slim bowl hopes alive, and Wyoming is trying to keep hold of third place. The full Saturday schedule:
Wyoming Cowboys (5-3, 2-1 MWC) vs. Air Force Falcons (5-4, 1-3 MWC), 12:00 p.m. MT, The Mtn
Wyoming is coming off a respectable performance against TCU, and they're close to bowl eligibility, but they've been plagued all year by poor run defense and that could be big trouble against the Falcons' run-heavy offense.
TCU Horned Frogs (7-2, 4-0 MWC) vs. Boise State Broncos (8-0, 3-0 MWC), 1:30 p.m. MT, Versus
It's the game of the year in the Mountain West and, in all likelihood, the game that will decide this year's conference champion. Boise State is unblemished and looking to continue another run at the BCS national championship game. The Horned Frogs would love nothing more than to put an end to those BCS aspirations.
San Diego State Aztecs (5-3, 2-2 MWC) vs. Colorado State Rams (3-5, 1-2 MWC), 4:00 p.m. MT, The Mtn
It's a must-win for Colorado State and its bowl hopes, as they're going to need a 3-1 finish to the year and TCU they still have to play TCU. The Aztecs, meanwhile, are just a win away from bowl eligibility. CSU's offense is coming off one of its best performances of the year and will need to keep that momentum going.
UNLV Rebels (2-6, 1-2) vs. New Mexico Lobos (0-9, 0-4 MWC), 8:00 p.m. MT, The Mtn
The Rebels must win the rest of their games to reach bowl eligibility, but the Lobos are just playing for pride at this point. For New Mexico, this may be their best shot at getting a win among their remaining games.
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