2008 San Diego Country Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
TCU (10-2) vs. Boise State (12-0)
Dec. 23, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
Payout:
$750,000 Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA
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2008 Poinsettia Bowl
Player Profiles, Histories, & More
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2007 CFN Poinsettia Bowl Preview
| 2006 CFN Poinsettia Bowl Preview
By
Pete Fiutak
There but for the grace of a late break in Salt Lake City and the
whims of the pollsters, this could’ve been a BCS game. The bowl is,
at the very least, in the discussion of the best non-BCS games and
has higher ranked teams than the Orange Bowl (Virginia Tech vs.
Cincinnati)
 |
|
National
Rankings |
|
Boise
State |
TCU |
|
Total Offense |
|
13th 456.75 ypg |
29th 417.08 ypg |
|
Total Defense |
|
16th 294.5 ypg |
2nd 215.08 ypg |
|
Scoring Offense |
|
12th 39.42 ppg |
19th 35 ppg |
|
Scoring Defense |
|
3rd 12.25 ppg |
2nd 10.92 ppg |
|
Run Offense |
|
49th 162.67 ypg |
13th 215.67 ypg |
|
Run Defense |
|
15th 104.92 ypg |
1st 48.67 ypg |
|
Pass Offense |
|
12t 294.08 ypg |
70th 201.42 ypg |
|
Pass Defense |
|
37th 189.58 ypg |
9th 166.42 ypg |
|
Turnover Margin |
|
24th 0.58 |
9th 1.08 |
|
Boise State
Idaho State W 49-7
Bo Green W
20-7
at Oregon W 37-32
La Tech
W 38-3
at So Miss
W 24-7
Hawaii W 27-7
at SJSU W 33-16
at NMSU W
49-0
Utah State W 49-14
at Idaho W 45-10
at Nevada W 41-34
Fresno St
W 61-10 |
TCU
at N Mexico
W 26-3
S.F. Austin W
67-7
Stanford W 31-14
at SMU W 48-7
at Oklahoma L 35-10
San Diego St W
41-7
at Col St W
13-7
BYU W 32-7
Wyoming W 54-7
at UNLV W 44-14
at Utah L 13-10
Air Force W 44-10 |
|
Position
Ratings
relative to each
other |
|
B |
5
highest
1 lowest |
T |
|
4.5 |
Quarterbacks |
4.5 |
|
5 |
RBs |
5 |
|
4 |
Receivers |
3.5 |
|
4 |
O
Line |
4 |
|
5 |
D
Line |
5 |
|
4 |
Linebackers |
5 |
|
4.5 |
Secondary |
5 |
|
4 |
Spec
Teams |
4 |
|
5 |
Coaching |
5 |
|
Boise State has gone unbeaten in
three of the last five regular
seasons, has won ten games or
more in seven of the last nine
seasons, and has won 108 games
in the last ten seasons. Of
course, there was the 2007
Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma in
one of the biggest statements
ever made by a non-BCS program.
With its résumé of victories and
consistency of excellence over a
decade, you’d think the team
would get the benefit of the
doubt when it comes to getting
the nod for a BCS game.
But noooooooooooo.
Boise State is ranked ninth in
the final BCS rankings while
Utah is seventh, meaning the
Utes got the automatic bid. Utah
beat TCU and blew away BYU, but
its best win over a BCS team was
against Oregon State. The
Broncos beat Oregon in Oregon,
and the Ducks later blew away
the Beavers. Ohio State was
ranked tenth in the final BCS
standings, but it still leaped
over the Broncos on the way to
face Texas in the Fiesta Bowl.
Thanks, Hawaii.
It might not seem fair, but
Hawaii’s embarrassment in the
2008 Sugar Bowl against Georgia
hurt the national perception of
the WAC and didn’t have anyone
doing cartwheels over having two
non-BCS teams playing in the big
money games. Boise State might
be ranked higher than Ohio
State, but the two OSU losses
came at USC and to Penn State.
Would Boise State have won
either of those two games?
Probably not, and then there’s
the issue with the rest of the
schedule.
There are a slew of wins over
teams that finished the regular
season with winning records, but
outside of the win over Oregon,
the second best victory was
against Nevada … whoopee. Even
so, Boise State could only play
who’s on the schedule, and
considering no one, no one,
wants anything to do with this
team when it comes down to
putting together a
non-conference slate, it’s a
problem for the program.
TCU didn’t have the same
scheduling issues, getting its
shot at the big time with an
early season game at Oklahoma.
While the defensive front was
able to get to future
Heisman-winner Sam Bradford
better than anyone else, it was
still a 35-10 loss. It might
have been a 25-point blowout,
but the 35 points allowed tied
Texas for the best job anyone
did this year against the mighty
Sooners. Even with the loss, TCU
likely would’ve finished ahead
of Boise State, and would’ve
gotten the automatic BCS bid,
had it been able to hold on
against Utah.
The Horned Frogs had all the
respect and all the national
attention after blasting BYU
32-7, but they suffered a missed
field goal late in the fourth
quarter against Utah and the
defense couldn’t hold on in the
13-10 loss that propelled the
Utes to the BCS. Even so, TCU
still has a special defense and
is putting together a special
season that could be capped off
with a top-ten finish, which is
what it’ll get with a win.
Boise State has a defense of its
own, leading the WAC in several
categories. With an efficient
offense, a defense that only
allowed more than 16 points
twice, and among the best
special teams in America, this
team has it all. Now it’s
looking to prove it on a
national scale with the
potential of a top-five finish
with a victory.
The Mountain West is 2-1 in the
short history of the Poinsettia
Bowl with TCU winning the 2006
game against Northern Illinois,
37-7. Last year’s Utah exciting
win over Navy was the first ever
decent Poinsettia Bowl, but
it’ll be a shock if this year’s
matchup doesn’t turn out to be
something special. The two
defenses are too good to let
either offense run away with the
game in a must-see battle
that’ll end up shaping up the
rankings. Even so, it’s a shame
that this isn’t being played on
in early January on a bigger
stage.
Players to watch:
TCU junior DE Jerry Hughes
was a former high school
running back, and he has used
that athleticism to become one
of the nation’s premier pass
rushers. He was a decent backup
last season working behind Chase
Ortiz, and this season he blew
up with 14 sacks, best in the
country, and 18.5 tackles for
loss. He single-handedly abused
BYU four sacks as part of a five
game run of 11 sacks. Extremely
quick and explosive, even if
he’s not coming up with big
plays on the stat sheet, he’s
occupying the attention of at
least two blockers on every
play.
Boise State has several
defensive stars, but the best of
the bunch is junior corner
Kyle Wilson, the WAC’s
premier shut-down defender who
can also hit a little bit. He
not only tied for the WAC lead
in interceptions with five, but
he also was a top open field
tackler. It’s not like TCU is
going to throw the ball all over
the field, but QB Andy Dalton
will have to lock in on
where Wilson is.
Offensively, Ian Johnson
might be the name-brand star who
gets the publicity, but Boise
State’s attack revolves around
QB Kellen Moore, who
survived a tough off-season
battle for the job and showed
why the coaching staff made the
right choice. He was one of the
nation’s most efficient passers
throwing for 3,264 yards and 25
touchdowns with nine
interceptions. Three of those
picks came in one game, and he
didn’t throw more than one
interception in any other game.
However, he’s been used to
having all the time he needs to
throw. He won’t get that against
TCU, and considering he’s not a
runner, he’ll have to make very
quick, very sharp decisions in
the face of the Horned Frog pass
rush.
TCU sophomore QB Andy Dalton
isn’t flashy and he’s not a
big-time bomber, but he does
what’s needed for the offense.
He keeps the chains moving, he
doesn’t make big mistakes, and
he lets the defense get the job
done. He didn’t throw a
touchdown pass over the first
five games, missed two games in
the middle of the year, and then
came back roaring throwing 11
touchdowns passes and just two
interceptions, both in the loss
to Utah, in the final five
games, and he showed against Air
Force and Wyoming that he can
throw a little bit going over
the 300-yard mark in each game.
TCU will win if... get to
Moore, get to Moore, get to
Moore. Even with star LB Robert
Henson not expected to play, TCU
and the nation’s No. 1 run
defense should be able to keep
Boise State’s great ground game
in check. The Broncos like to
pound the ball, but TCU’s
defensive back seven won’t allow
many short runs become big ones.
The key will be to throw Moore
off his game by generating
pressure from the start. That’s
easier said than done
considering Boise State doesn’t
allow sacks, and Moore gets the
ball out of his hands in a
hurry, but the Horned Frogs are
great at keeping plays in front
of them. The sacks don’t have to
be there, but Hughes and company
have to hit Moore early.
Boise State will win if...
keep the TCU running game in
check and take advantage of any
mistakes. The Horned Frogs
commit lots and lots of
penalties with ten or more in
six games and 109 on the season.
They also put the ball on the
turf, but they’ve been great at
recovering their errors. Boise
State is good at forcing
mistakes and it has to swarm
around the ball and hope to come
up with at least three
turnovers. There aren’t going to
be many long drives on the TCU
defense, if any, so when the
chances are there to capitalize
on a short field, the Broncos
have to capitalize. Defensively,
Boise State led the WAC, and was
16th in the nation,
against the run. TCU had
problems with its running game
against Oklahoma and Utah and
lost both games. Colorado State
gave the Horned Frogs a hard
time by keeping their ground
game to 141 yards. If TCU is
running well, controlling the
clock, and keeping the chains
moving, the defense will do the
rest.
What will happen:
It won’t be a shootout by any
stretch. These two teams are
tough, efficient, and great at
stepping on an opponent’s throat
when the chances are there. TCU
will get that shot. The
defensive front won’t dominate,
but it’ll do just enough to get
to Moore and will shut down the
Bronco running game. On the
other side, Boise State will
keep TCU’s ground game in check,
but Dalton will be a bit more
effective than Moore. It’ll be a
good one.
Line: TCU -2.5 ...
CFN Prediction:
TCU 17 … Boise State 13
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2008 Poinsettia Bowl
Player Profiles, Histories, & More