Much will be on the line for Air Force and New Mexico on Saturday, and not just from a sentimental standpoint.

For Air Force, a loss would be the nail in the coffin for a bowl bid. The Falcons (3-7, 2-4 Mountain West) cannot get to eligibility, which would require six wins, but they can still finish 5-7 and put themselves in position to fill any openings created by a lack of bowl-eligible teams.

For upstart New Mexico (7-3, 4-2), stuck in a logjam in the Mountain West, there’s still a path to the conference championship game.

San Diego State leads the Mountain West with a 5-1 conference record. Behind the Aztecs are five teams at 4-2 – the Lobos, Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii and UNLV. Utah State sits behind them at 3-3.

There are many scenarios that could play out over the final two weeks.

“I’ve always had the feeling that if you work really hard and take care of your business, life usually works out,” first-year New Mexico coach Jason Eck said. “I’ve been blessed that way. I hope it happens for our team if we take care of business.

“There’s no chances of being in the championship game if you don’t win this weekend.”

For the Falcons, the odds of playing beyond next week’s regular-season finale at Colorado State are long, but not impossible.

There will be 82 teams advancing to bowl games or the College Football Playoff. So far 63 teams have earned eligibility. Another 24 teams need one win to become eligible.

The system is supposed to be structured in a way that any unfilled bowl spots will be filled by 5-7 teams selected in the order of their Academic Progress Rate. Air Force ranks ninth in APR, and the only teams above the Falcons that are not yet bowl eligible are North Carolina (4-6), Clemson (5-5) and Northwestern (5-5).

Bowl possibilities aside, this will be the final game at Falcon Stadium, so Air Force won’t lack motivation. But there could still be ramifications at play for the team. Not that the players are analyzing the possibilities.

“I haven’t,” center Costen Cooley said when asked if he’d looked at any potential paths to a bowl. “I’m not sure what’s going on outside of this program.”