With Mountain West championship secured, will Jake Haener play or opt out of L.A. Bowl?

Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener dispatched any mystery on his bowl-game status shortly after the Bulldogs won the Mountain West Conference championship with a 28-16 victory Saturday over Boise State.

Haener, who threw a touchdown pass for a conference-record 28th consecutive game, said that he is all-in for the Bulldogs’ date in the Dec. 17 L.A. Bowl, against a to be determined opponent from the Pac-12.

He could have opted to rest his right ankle, which was fractured in the third quarter of a loss at USC in the third game of the season. He could have opted to get a head start on preparation for the NFL Draft, in a quality quarterback draft class.

He wouldn’t be the first to opt out of a bowl game and said he would have if the Bulldogs had ended up matched up against a lesser opponent.

But this opportunity is too great to pass up.

“It’s the opponent and the opportunity and it’s soon, it’s on the 17th, and it gives me the best opportunity to play a good opponent one more time and end on a high note, so we’re going to do it,” Haener said.

Fresno State (9-4) is likely to see Washington State (7-5) — the L.A. Bowl pits the Mountain West champion against the fifth place team from Pac-12, not selected by the Rose, Alamo, Holiday, Las Vegas or Sun bowls.

Fresno State isn’t expected to announce bowl ticket sales until Sunday, though tickets for the L.A. Bowl are already on sale with prices beginning at $35.

But no matter the opponent, the Bulldogs quarterback has a pretty good track record against the Pac-12.

Haener completed 39 of 53 passes (73.6%) for 455 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in a 40-37 victory at UCLA, a team the Bulldogs have beaten four times in a row. He also was 30 of 43 (69.8%) for 298 yards in a narrow 31-24 loss at No. 22 Oregon last season, and 29 of 45 (64.4%) for 360 yards with one touchdown in the last-second loss this season to Oregon State. Haener was 10 of 18 for 117 yards with one touchdown and one interception at USC, before he was injured on the Bulldogs’ opening series in the second half.

The game will be played at SoFi Stadium, home to the NFL Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.

“I said this about (playing UNLV at Allegiant Stadium) and I was telling some of the guys, it’s just another opportunity to go play another football game against a really good opponent,” Haener said.

“It doesn’t matter where we play. We have to bring our best preparation and our best game to that field on any given Saturday. I think it’s just another great opportunity to play a quality opponent, a Pac-12 school, and be able to showcase what we can do against top tier talent.”