ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV

When the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks (7-6) take on the Fresno State Bulldogs (8-4) on Saturday at Casino Del Sol Stadium, it'll mark the fifth matchup between the Mountain West and the MAC. 

It'll be the first Arizona Bowl at the newly named Casino Del Sol Stadium — the second event at the venue formerly known as Arizona Stadium since the 20-year naming rights agreement with Casino Del Sol was finalized. 

Fresno State is a 3.5-point favorite to beat Miami, according to Action Network. 

When the Arizona Bowl was founded by chairman Ali Farhang in 2015, the original conference ties were the Mountain West and Sun Belt. 

Since then, the Arizona Bowl has evolved with multiple sponsors — Nova Home Loans, Offerpad, Barstool Sports and now Snoop Dogg — and is now tied to upper-echelon teams from the Mountain West and MAC. 

MAC teams are 3-1 in the Arizona Bowl since their affiliation started in 2020. Ball State routed a shorthanded San Jose State team, led by current Arizona Wildcats head coach Brent Brennan, that was ravaged by COVID-19. Wyoming beat Ohio in overtime the following season, and Miami coasted by Colorado State, 43-17, last season. 

Wyoming's 16-15 win over Toledo in 2023 is the Mountain West's only win over the MAC in the Arizona Bowl. 

If Miami beats Fresno State on Saturday, the Redhawks will be one of three teams to win the Arizona Bowl twice, joining Wyoming and Nevada, which won the inaugural Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl in 2015 and then beat Arkansas State in 2018. 

The Mountain West and MAC tie-ins are set to expire this season. Since "college football is a little bit in flux right now," Arizona Bowl executive director Kym Adair said, "All bowl games are just waiting for the College Football Playoff to decide if they're going to expand or not." The current format is 12 teams, but it could expand in 2026. 

"Currently, no bowls have contracts beyond this year except for the CFP games," Adair said. "Once they can figure out if they're staying the same for 2026 or expanding, then we can move into high gear and get some of these contracts signed for the future."

Added Adair: "There's a lot to be determined right now. There's a lot up in the air. I figured it would be happening during the busiest time of our year. It would've been nice to have this figured out months and months ago, but we're in this waiting pattern and waiting for the CFP to make a decision. ... We hope to know something by the national championship in January."