Mountain West Football: 12 most important 2017 non-conference games

Somehow, Boise State has been shut out of three of the first four MWC championship games. In 2013, Utah State took the Mountain Division despite a head-to-head loss against the Broncos. In 2015, a loss at home against Air Force put the Falcons into the title game. Last year, it was Wyoming that swooped in for the MWC Mountain title.

The one time Boise State did win the division, they took the Group of Five automatic bid into a New Year’s Six bowl. Thus conference play remains the primary focus, but several games against Power Five teams also loom on the schedule. The Broncos will be favored against Virginia at home on September 22, but that limits the impact of the statement.

Instead, the game against Washington State two weeks earlier in Pullman will be Boise State’s most important this year. The Broncos have never beaten the Cougars, having played only four times historically despite their proximity. Both teams will view this game as a make-or-break contest as they each harbor their own dreams of reaching a major bowl game.