2008 Poinsettia Bowl: Boise State (12-0) vs TCU (10-2)

By WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook

What is likely the most intriguing, best non-BCS bowl matchup of them all takes place Tuesday night in San Diego when No. 9 Boise State, which has a major beef for not being in a BCS bowl, takes on No. 11 TCU, which is a 3-point favorite on WagerWeb.com.

Boise State got left out of the major bowls despite going 12-0 with a road win over Oregon. Unfortunately for the Broncos, unbeaten Utah, which beat TCU 13-10 with a TD drive in the final minutes, was ahead of them in the final BCS standings, sending the Utes to the Sugar Bowl. The politics of the bowls (i.e. money) relegated Boise to this game despite the fact it finished ahead of a two-loss Ohio State team in the BCS standings.

TCU might have gotten a BCS berth had it held on against Utah. The Horned Frogs’ only other loss was a 35-10 setback at Oklahoma – which was the fewest points scored by the Sooners this season (matched against Texas). The Frogs have won their past three bowl appearances.

Tuesday’s game definitely is a matchup of different systems, with Boise a high-scoring offensive team and the Frogs a defense-first club. TCU’s defense finished second behind USC in total defense, allowing just 215 yards per game; second behind the Trojans in scoring defense, allowing just 10.9 points per game; and tied for first against the run, allowing 48.67 yards per game. Frogs DE Jerry Hughes leads the nation with 14 sacks and has 18 1/2 tackles for loss; TCU is second in the nation in sacks with 41.

TCU will be down one key player as senior linebacker Robert Henson did not make the trip to San Diego because of academic issues. Henson, who earned first-team All-Mountain West Conference honors, had 73 tackles, nine tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions and a forced fumble this season.



Boise State has the 12th-ranked offense in the nation, averaging 39.4 points a contest. Kellen Moore, a second-team all-WAC selection, led the league with a 161.5 passer rating. The redshirt freshman completed 70.0 percent of his passes for 3,264 yards and 25 touchdowns against nine interceptions. Boise’s ground game, led by Ian Johnson, averages 183.5 yards per game. Boise did not face a team ranked in top 53 in nation in total defense this season.

The Broncos play good defense, too, allowing 12 points per game. TCU’s offense averages 417 yards and 35 points per game. In 10 wins, Frogs QB Andy Dalton threw 11 TD passes vs. 2 INTs, but in two losses he was picked three times with no TD passes.

The over/under for Tuesday’s game on WagerWeb.com is 46.

Boise State is the fourth undefeated top-10 team TCU has faced this season, joining Oklahoma, BYU and Utah. The Frogs handled BYU with ease for their only win among the three.

These two met in the 2003 Fort Worth Bowl with the Broncos winning 34-31. That is TCU’s lone bowl loss since 2001 (4-1).

Bet on the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl