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Provo • BYU does not have to beat Utah State on Saturday to get an invitation to play in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl, the bowl's executive director told The Salt Lake Tribune on Wednesday.

"But it sure would help," said John Saccenti. "Does BYU have to win? No. Would it help? Yes."

Saccenti said BYU "absolutely" has a chance to play in Las Vegas even if it loses because it has the ability to sell out Sam Boyd Stadium and also create a matchup with a Pac-12 team that would draw decent television ratings.

"They still have wins over Boise State, Nebraska, Cincinnati and East Carolina. They really had a chance at UCLA, too. They've had a really good year," Saccenti said. "Other than that Michigan game — I am not sure what happened there — they have been a phenomenal football team."

The Cougars will play in either the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 19 or the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve. Saccenti said as part of an agreement signed last April, four parties — BYU, the Las Vegas Bowl, the Hawaii Bowl and ESPN, which owns both bowls — will "mutually agree" where to send the Cougars in 2015. The bowl that does not get BYU this year will get it in 2019.

That's an important factor in the negotiations, and one of the reasons the Hawaii Bowl is pushing hard to get the Cougars now. Hawaii Bowl officials are worried that if they don't take BYU this year when 2-10 Hawaii is not bowl eligible, they will have to turn down the local team in 2019 and take BYU instead.

Most indications from BYU are that the Cougars want to return to Las Vegas for the first time since 2009.

"When I have that conversation about Hawaii in 2019, BYU folks say, 'well, we don't know where we will be in 2019. We may be in a conference. We may be attached to a conference agreement and in a conference bowl lineup. We don't know what our future holds, either.' And that's a fair argument, a fair statement," Saccenti said.

While stressing that he can't speak on behalf of the Hawaii Bowl, Saccenti said the fact that BYU's basketball team is playing in a tournament in Honolulu the same week as the bowl game, and the state's LDS population, are other reasons the bowl wants the Cougars.

If it doesn't get BYU, the Las Vegas Bowl will get either San Diego State or Air Force from the Mountain West.

"I can't say it will be the winner, but I can say with confidence that it will be one of those two [competing against BYU for the berth]," Saccenti said. "We are not tied into the champion. We have a selection. Obviously, winning a championship game holds a lot of weight, and it makes the decision kinda lean one way or the other, but we are not 100 percent committed to that."

Folks wanting a BYU-Utah matchup in Las Vegas shouldn't hold their breath, partly because Utah would have to lose to Colorado on Saturday to fall into that realm, and also because Utah played there last year.

Saccenti said there is "no-repeat language" in the bowl's contract with the Pac-12 to provide a team in the sixth-place range, but not necessarily a clause or actual rule.

"I have spoken to Utah. …. My sense is that Utah would not be as excited for that matchup as BYU would be," Saccenti said, also noting that Utah and BYU are playing next year and that TV viewers might not be attracted to a "regionalized" game.

"We are going into a very important year as far as trying to drive eyeballs on TV," he said. "With having a blowout game last year [Utah drubbed Colorado State 45-10] our TV ratings slipped a little bit. We need to get those back up. So we are really focusing on the matchup this year in order to try to get the best possible matchup on the field, not only from a football standpoint, but also from a business standpoint."

Saccenti hopes a decision comes as soon as Monday, after this weekend's games but before Dec. 7, when the College Football Playoff's semifinal pairings and most major bowl game pairings will be announced.

"I think it is better for everybody if we get that extra week," he said. "And that's what I am pushing for. I am saying, whatever we decide to do, let's do it after this weekend and give everybody an extra week to get their ducks in a row and get settled. For us, it is such a tight turnaround from Selection Sunday to when the teams arrive, that week makes all the difference in the world. So I am pushing for an earlier decision."

Twitter: @drewjay —

Saturday's Game

BYU at Utah State, 1:30 p.m. MT

TV: CBS Sports Network