The Mountain West Conference, according to a report by Brett McMurphy of Stadium, is expecting its teams to see their schedules reduced from 12 to 10 games due to complications brought on by the coronavirus.
According to McMurphy, an eight-game conference schedule in addition to two non-conference games is the most likely scenario for the 2020 season, with the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs making the biggest push towards keeping two non-conference games on the schedule. That would allow the Falcons to play Army and Navy in the games that help decide the winner of the Commander in Chief trophy.
If eight conference games are played, each conference school would play five within their division and three from the opposite division. Complicating matters for the Mountain West has been the deluge of schools from Power 5 conferences canceling all non-conference games, which, among many cuts off the schedule, took Nevada’s trip to Arkansas off the table.
A school from the Mountain West’s footprint, but not a member of the Mountain West, is Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. The Cougars play an independent schedule that has been decimated by the summer decisions from major conferences nationwide. Among BYU’s cancellations were a home game against the SEC’s Missouri Tigers planned for mid-October. BYU could easily slide into the non-conference scheduling of the Mountain West with shorter travel considerations needed.
The Mountain West Conference is made up of The Mountain Division schools of Boise State, Air Force, Utah State, Wyoming, Colorado State, and New Mexico, along with the West Division schools of Hawaii, San Diego State, Nevada, Fresno State, UNLV, and San Jose State.