TCU vs. Boise State

                                                                                         

Horned Frogs -3 vs. Broncos

The best of the early bowl games will take place on Christmas Eve-Eve, Tuesday night, December 23, as number 11 TCU will take on number nine Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego.

Two seasons ago, Boise State (12-0) was the BCS buster. In arguably one of the best BCS games in the last few years, the Broncos used a number of trick plays to upset the old guard of college football, Oklahoma a few seasons ago. Boise State did not receive the amount of love they should have probably been shown for the entertainment value they would bring to the BCS games, frequently full of blowouts and mismatches and will, instead go to San Diego for an early bowl game.

Boise State did everything they could to try to nab a BCS berth this season. They won all 12 of their games by an average of 27.2 points, but saw Utah get the coveted, non-BSC conference spot in the Sugar Bowl. The Broncos had a shot to land in the Fiesta Bowl, but the game decided to pick Ohio State instead, despite being ranked lower.

The Broncos will face a worthy opponent in TCU (10-2) who won double-digit games in the regular season largely on the backs of their second-ranked defense in the nation. The Horned Frogs only lost to number two Oklahoma and number 10 Utah along the way. TCU will look to use their stellar defense to stop Boise State's 12th-ranked offense which yields 39.4 points per game.

The Frogs meanwhile are holding opponents to 10.9 points per contest, second only to Southern California's 7.8 points per game. Their offense if none to shabby either. They have five players with 400 yards rushing and hold onto the ball longer than anyone in the nation at 34:50. These factors will be critical in beating Boise State.

The teams have met only once before, also in a bowl game. The Boise State upset the 19th-ranked TCU 34-31 in the 2003 Fort Worth Bowl.

This will be the Broncos ninth bowl appearance, having won five of those. The Horned Frogs will appear in their 25th bowl game. In the previous 24, they have gone 10-13-1.

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