Arizona Bowl gets matchup it wanted — Toledo vs. Wyoming — after day of waiting, wondering

Excitement and uncertainty filled the air at the Playground Bar & Lounge on Sunday afternoon.

The Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl was hosting its annual announcement event. But as the party got underway, even the bowl game’s top executives weren’t 100% sure who was invited.

Toledo was a lock. It was a done deal after Saturday’s Mid-American Conference Championship Game, in which the Rockets were upset by Miami (Ohio). Toledo had wanted to come to the Arizona Bowl for years — even before it was affiliated with the MAC — so this was a perfect match.

The Mountain West Conference participant was still to be determined. Five teams beyond MWC champion Boise State had above-.500 records. Four had marks of 8-4 or better.

Additionally, it was an unprecedented year in college football. An undefeated Power Five champion, Florida State, didn’t make the four-team College Football Playoff.

“It’s a cascading effect,” Arizona Bowl founder and chairman Ali Farhang said about 30 minutes before the announcement was supposed to be made. “It affects every bowl game. It’s the butterfly effect of college football.”

Eric Rhodes, the Arizona Bowl’s VP of communications, was up until 3 a.m. making different versions of the announcement video. Stationed in the Playground’s DJ booth — which he called his “command center” — Rhodes had two laptops open, one cell phone and four drafts of the official press release, accounting for every possible matchup.

The announcement was scheduled for 12:45 p.m. At 1:21, it finally came: Wyoming would be coming to Tucson for the second straight year to take on Toledo. The game is set to kick off at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 30, at Arizona Stadium.

Kym Adair, the Arizona Bowl’s executive director, said nailing down this year’s matchup was “like trying to staple Jell-O to a wall.” Last-minute maneuvering isn’t unusual on Selection Sunday. But this year was extreme.

“This one probably takes the cake,” Adair said. “I remember seeing a photo of Ali in our second year in a corner, waiting. I think this one outpaced that one.

“Things (were) happening within the system. So we were really waiting. We had to wait until the New Year’s Six were determined to find out (where) everybody else was going. That was the most interesting part.

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“But ultimately we knew we were gonna have an incredible matchup no matter how it worked out. And we couldn’t be happier.”

Toledo will be playing in the Arizona Bowl for the first time. The Rockets’ 11 wins are the most for an Arizona Bowl participant. They were ranked as high as No. 23 in the Associated Press Top 25 before losing Saturday.

“Toledo’s got one of the best fan bases in all of college football,” Farhang said. “They are rabid.”

Toledo sent marketing materials to the Arizona Bowl shortly after it launched in 2015.

“So really, it’s kind of come around,” Farhang said. “Toledo’s wanted to be in this game for seven years, and finally they’re gonna get to do it.”

Wyoming was something of a surprise selection because the Cowboys played in last year’s game, falling to Ohio in overtime. This will mark Wyoming’s third appearance in the Arizona Bowl in the past four years in which the game has been played.

But just as Las Vegas has become “McKale North” for the University of Arizona, Tucson has become “Laramie South” for Wyoming.

“We love Wyoming,” Adair said. “They’re just a great institution first. We’ve got a ton of Wyoming fans here in the state of Arizona that travel. And then they just really shut the lights out in Wyoming and come down and visit us. That’s what we really are encouraged by. So we’re very excited to have Wyoming back.”