Las Vegas Bowl paying close attention to USC, Wyoming
John Saccenti won’t be on the road this weekend watching college football, but the Las Vegas Bowl executive director will closely monitor three games.
Colorado and UCLA were high on the bowl game’s wish list. That might not be the case anymore for separate reasons.
The No. 15 Buffaloes (7-2, 5-1) defeated the Bruins (3-6, 1-5) on Thursday and are contending for the Pac-12 title. UCLA must win out just to achieve bowl eligibility. The Las Vegas Bowl often selects a team in the middle of the Pac-12 standings.
The Southern California-Oregon game Saturday is an intriguing one for Saccenti. USC (5-3, 4-2) seems like a perfect candidate for Las Vegas, but a victory by Oregon (3-5, 1-4) at the Los Angeles Coliseum could change that.
“Can the Ducks win two in a row and put themselves back into the bowl picture?” Saccenti said. “A win for USC here could put them out of our window.”
In the Mountain West, it’s a three-team race among Wyoming, San Diego State and Boise State. Wyoming upset 14-point favorite Boise State 30-28 last week. The Cowboys (6-2, 4-0) have an easy matchup on paper Saturday against Utah State (3-5, 1-4).
“We want to see how Wyoming plays after its big upset win against Boise State,” Saccenti said. “Wyoming is now in first place in the Mountain West Mountain division and controls its own destiny for the championship game.”
Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.
