Bowl Grades For Every Team, Conference: How Did Everyone Do? – Page 8

Mountain West Bowl Grades

Mountain West Bowl Grade: B-

Mountain West Straight Up: 3-4
Mountain West Against The Spread: 2-5

Fresno State won the big one. The Mountain West champ took down the Pac-12 program beating Washington State in the LA, and Boise State was able to slink on by North Texas. The other splashy win over a Power Five school came from Air Force as it dominated Baylor.

However, San Jose State was awful for the middle 30 minutes of the loss to Eastern Michigan, and San Diego State somehow managed to lose to Middle Tennessee despite totally dominating defensively. Utah State was supposed to lose to Memphis – no big deal – and Wyoming lost a heartbreaker to Ohio.

Air Force Bowl Grade: A

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Prediction: Air Force 26, Baylor 24
Line: Baylor -5.5, o/u: 48.5
Final Score: Air Force 30, Baylor 15
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

276 yards rushing. Over 40 minutes of possession time. No turnovers, two penalties, dominant run defense, doubling up the Big 12 team, and having total control with a 30-7 lead late before allowing one garbage time touchdown … that’s about as perfect as an Air Force bowl performance gets.

Boise State Bowl Grade: B

Frisco Bowl
Prediction: Boise State 38, North Texas 20
Line: Boise State -10.5, o/u: 59.5
Final Score: Boise State 35, North Texas 32
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Of course, all that matters is the bowl win – except to those who had Boise State -10.5. This should’ve been a whole lot easier than it was against a North Texas team who might have played in the Conference USA Championship, but wasn’t close to being itself in this. It took a half before the Broncos showed up, and they turned it on when they had to. There shouldn’t have had to be any sweat to do it.

Fresno State Bowl Grade: A

Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl
Prediction: Washington State 24, Fresno State 20
Line: Fresno State -4, o/u: 53
Final Score: Fresno State 29, Washington State 6
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Fresno State controlled this game so easily it made the host whine about how boring it was – Jimmy Kimmel came in the TV booth and jokingly complained about what a dud this was. Fresno State had everything to do with that on both sides of the ball.

San Diego State Bowl Grade: C-

EasyPost Hawaii Bowl
Prediction: San Diego State 23, Middle Tennessee 13
Line: San Diego State -6.5, o/u: 48.5
Final Score: Middle Tennessee 25, San Diego State 23
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Seriously, San Diego State? ALL YOU HAD TO DO was not turn the ball over. The defensive line got its mail in the Middle Tennessee backfield. Jalen Mayden threw for 309 yards. The team was up 14-0 in the first quarter, and all it had to do was not royally screw up, grind down the clock, and rely on the D.

Instead, the Aztecs turned it over five times, managed just three field goals the rest of the way, and even then, they had the game won. All they had to do was come up with one last defensive stop … nope. Middle Tennessee was able to grind it out for a walk-off field goal and the win.

San Jose State Bowl Grade: D+

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Prediction: San Jose State 27, Eastern Michigan 23
Line: San Jose State -3.5, o/u: 54
Final Score: Eastern Michigan 41, San Jose State 27
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Ugh. Losing in what should’ve been an even game would’ve been one thing, but San Jose State totally melted down. It started strong, was about to go 14-0 in the first quarter, and then came the blocked two-six – EMU returned a two-point conversion for a score. Absolutely nothing went right from there, the Spartans couldn’t change the momentum, and it was down 33-13 late in the third.

Utah State Bowl Grade: C-

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Prediction: Memphis 34, Utah State 23
Line: Memphis -7, o/u: 61.5
Final Score: Memphis 38, Utah State 10
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Utah State just never had it. The offense that had its moments throughout the season couldn’t get going – the only touchdown was in the fourth quarter when Memphis already had control – the three turnovers hurt, and the 261 yards of total offense weren’t even close to getting it done.

Wyoming Bowl Grade: B+

Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl
Prediction: Ohio 26, Wyoming 23
Line: Ohio -2.5, o/u: 41.5
Final Score: Ohio 30, Wyoming 27 OT
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Considering how many key guys the Cowboys were missing, they did an amazing job. They failed to come up with that one big stop in the final moments of regulation, and they failed to get into the end zone in overtime, but whatever. It was a great fight that someone had to lose.

NEXT: Pac-12 Bowl Grades

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