What if UNLV would have beaten San Diego

Now that the bowls have been matched up, it's a good time to see what UNLV's chances would have been if it had defeated San Diego State and become bowl eligible.

The Rebels probably would have had to secure an at-large berth since Colorado State most likely would have received the nod for the New Mexico Bowl. The NCAA rule is all teams with winning records must be selected before a 6-6 team can go, which would have ruled out the Texas Bowl, which took a 9-3 Western Michigan team.

There would have been four other possibilities that took 6-6 schools.

The Papajohns.com Bowl took North Carolina State. UNLV would have had a hard time earning a berth over the Wolfpack because of geography. This game is in Birmingham, Ala.

The Independence Bowl went with Northern Illinois. The Rebels could have made an argument, but again, distance would have been a factor for the Shreveport, La.-based game. But maybe not so much with Louisiana Tech as the other team.

UNLV might have had a shot over Florida Atlantic for the Motor City Bowl in Detroit. Central Michigan would have been the opponent, so that would have helped that game with drawing a crowd.

The Hawaii Bowl was thought to be a real possibility, but it selected Notre Dame. No way the Rebels would have received the nod over the Irish.

So UNLV might have been left out of the postseason even with a victory over San Diego State, but the Rebels will kick themselves for never knowing. It should be good motivation in the offseason.