Ranking future bowl scenarios for the CSU Rams

The bowl schedule for the Mountain West from 2020-25 was released this week.

As reported by Brett McMurphy, the five guaranteed bowl destinations for the conference will be in Los Angeles, Idaho, Hawaii, New Mexico and Arizona. However, the Mountain West is guaranteed at least six bowl slots. As a result, the league will get at least one bowl from the 16 owned by ESPN. If there’s a scenario where all of those postseason games are filled, the MW also has a backup deal with the Cheez-It Bowl.

Ram fans are familiar with locations like the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Arizona Bowl and my personal favorite – the New Mexico Bowl. The biggest change is moving the league’s top bowl destination from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Bowl will pit the MW against the PAC-12 at the new NFL stadium in LA., similarly to how the two conferences used to face each other in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Las Vegas Bowl now features the SEC and PAC-12.

Considering that the conference was essentially told it isn’t desirable enough to be featured in the new Raiders stadium, despite the fact that the two biggest programs in Nevada are both in the MW, landing a destination like Los Angeles isn’t a bad trade-off.

As a devout supporter of the CSU Rams, you may be thinking about which bowl games are the most desirable to attend. So, let’s rank them from the perspective of the Ram faithful.

Top tier

Los Angeles Bowl 

• Aside from being the lone G5 team to qualify for a New Year’s Six Bowl, this is basically the best-case scenario for a Mountain West team. A chance to play in an NFL stadium against a team from the PAC-12 is a great opportunity. And while this writer would have prefered to stay in Las Vegas, Los Angeles seems like it would be a fun experience for the fans.

Frisco Bowl*

• The Frisco Bowl has a primary agreement with the American and Sun Belt, but if those leagues don’t have enough bowl eligible teams, this seems like one of the logical ESPN-owned bowls for the MW to fill. Traveling to Texas is relatively cheap and from a recruiting standpoint, playing a postseason game in the “Lone Star State” is great exposure.

Cheez-It Bowl*

• The Cheez-It Bowl typically will feature the Big-12 vs. PAC-12 – but as mentioned above, the MW has a backup agreement. Phoenix AZ., is certainly an ideal spot for a postseason game. Plus, getting to face a team from a Power 5 conference is always beneficial.

Desirable

New Mexico Bowl

• If you’ve never actually been to the New Mexico Bowl, this probably sounds absurd. Why would you want to go to Albuquerque in December? Well, the reason the New Mexico Bowl is such a fantastic experience is how unique it is. The entire city seems to embrace the festivities and the way the bowl ties in the local culture is really cool. Plus – any chance to eat green chili is worth the commute.

Arizona Bowl

• Facing a team from the Sun Belt on CBS Sports Network isn’t a great selling point, but the chance to escape the cold and go to Tucson, AZ., for a few days is great. More importantly, with the game taking place at the University of Arizona, there are no concerns about poor facilities or a frozen field. Finally, similarly to the New Mexico Bowl, this option allows the fans to travel for relatively cheap.

Bottom tier

Hawaii

• How can one of the most beautiful places in the world be a bad bowl location? For one, it’s way too expensive for both the athletic department and fans. Unless your family is going to plan their holidays around a trip to the island, it’s a really unrealistic destination.  Not to mention the game is usually played on Christmas Eve, meaning almost nobody around the country will be tuned in.

Idaho Potato Bowl

• My disdain for Boise State’s blue turf is common knowledge at this point. The last time CSU qualified for this bowl game (2016), it was a miracle that nobody was seriously injured on the frozen field. But honestly, the biggest reason that this bowl is in the bottom tier is nobody wants to travel to Idaho in the middle of winter to see their team face someone from the MAC.