When the University of Hawaii plays at Utah State on Saturday, the Aggies could be auditioning for the role of Rainbow Warriors replacement in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

The ‘Bows’ 35-28 loss to Colorado State on Saturday marked the earliest elimination from bowl eligibility for UH in the 12-year history of the game.

And without a UH presence for a record third consecutive year, the Hawaii Bowl will look to another Mountain West Conference team to fill out its contracted matchup with Conference USA on Dec. 24 at Aloha Stadium.

Boise State might be the ideal pick for the Hawaii Bowl since the Broncos’ basketball team will also be here Dec. 22-25 for the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. Both the Hawaii Bowl and Diamond Head Classic are owned and operated by ESPN Regional TV, whose parent company, ESPN, airs the events.

"There’s a lot of football to be played and it is kind of hard to forecast who it might be at this point," said David Matlin, executive director of the Hawaii Bowl.

But three of the Rainbow Warriors’ next four opponents — Utah State, San Diego State and Wyoming — could be in the running. So far, only Fresno State (7-0) is bowl eligible, while Boise State (5-3) and Nevada-Las Vegas (5-3) are each one victory away.

San Jose State (4-3), Utah State (4-4), Wyoming (4-4), Colorado State (4-4) and San Diego State (3-4) also are in contention.

The MWC and its bowl partners have scheduled a Nov. 20 meeting to iron out postseason plans, with the Las Vegas Bowl getting first pick of bowl-eligible MWC teams.

Two C-USA teams, Rice (6-2) and Tulane (6-2), are already bowl eligible.