The LA Bowl is back on a Saturday but at what cost to its eastern members?
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Last month, Bowl Season released its schedule. For the second year in a row, two bowls will share a Saturday with the Army-Navy Game. While the Celebration Bowl returns to the second Saturday in December for the second year in a row, a new bowl becomes the nightcap. The LA Bowl replaces the Camellia Bowl in the night slot on December 13th. Although minor bowl news to many, it could create a suboptimal situation for the Mountain West representative.
The LA Bowl is at the top of the Mountain West's bowl selection order. The Mountain West champion has played in the bowl in four of the bowl's five years. Last year was the first time the Mountain West champion did not play in the LA Bowl since its inception, but that was because Boise State made the College Football Playoff. The conference's runner-up, UNLV, took its place.
The Mountain West Championship Game is eight days before the LA Bowl, on Friday, December 6th. Although travel to Los Angeles on a week's notice is no big deal to UNLV, Nevada, or the conference's California schools, it could create issues for Colorado State, Air Force, and Wyoming. All three schools are over a 16-hour drive from Los Angeles. Fans from any of these three schools could face a tough decision if they win the Mountain West or take the LA Bowl spot from a College Football Playoff-participating Mountain West Champion. In the worst case, fans could have to travel twice in two weeks if they are the visiting team in the conference championship game.
The College Football Playoff's expansion to 12 teams was arguably the worst thing to happen to the LA Bowl. Last year, the bowl lost its coveted Saturday ABC time slot, shifting to a Wednesday night. It also had its lowest attendance ever by over 5,000 fans. Although the bowl game is back on a Saturday, it must settle for the second Saturday of December. Due to the quick turnaround, the LA Bowl now has to hope for one of the nearby schools to win the conference or settle for a weaker team for the sake of geography.
