VS.

A crack at a major conference powerhouse eluded these programs despite their perfect records, resulting in the No.4 Horned Frogs and No. 6 Broncos squaring off in a second consecutive postseason at the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 4. This is the first time two unbeaten teams will play in a BCS bowl other than the national championship game. Three days before SEC power Alabama and Big 12 stalwart Texas meet for the BCS crown, the Mountain West champion Horned Frogs (12-0) and WAC winner Boise State (13-0) take the field in Glendale, Ariz.

8:00 PM ET, January 4, 2010
Cardinals Stadium , GLENDALE, AZ
FOX

No.6 Boise State Broncos are just happy to be back in a BCS bowl — and with a chance for some revenge. They took a 12-0 record into last season’s Poinsettia Bowl against TCU, blowing a fourth-quarter lead to lose 17-16. Boise finished with an undefeated record of 13-0 beating in the opening season game Oregon who eventually won the Pac-10 Conference, although the rest of the games weren’t as demanding as the first they managed to score a lot of points and qualify for the BCS bowl. The biggest asset Boise State has will be the No.1 offense in the country led by QB Kellen Moore. They averaged 44.2 points per game and only allowed 17.7 points, now ain’t that something? The fact is they were the absolute best on the WAC and they faced pretty shitty rivals but they managed to score and score and now they will try to do so against the powerful defense of TCU. Other players involved in offense are QB Mike Coughlin, RB Jeremy Avery, RB Doug Martin, WR Titus Young and WR Austin Pettis. Boise’s advantage is the fact that these running backs combined for 20 tds and these wide receivers combined for 24 tds so they can switch from ground to air and viceversa at any given time and the team won’t suffer the adjustment.

No.4 TCU Horned Frogs would have liked an elite conference opponent for their first BCS game, like Boise State got at the 2007 Fiesta Bowl when it stunned Oklahoma 43-42 with a 2-point conversion on a trick play in overtime. TCU nearly had everything go its way on the final day of the regular season to make the BCS title game. Instead, No. 4 Cincinnati rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat Pittsburgh, then Texas pulled off a 13-12 win over Nebraska in a stunning finish to the Big 12 title game. The Horned Frogs could make a case to be playing for a national championship. They’ve blown out each of their last six opponents, including wins over ranked conference foes BYU and Utah by a combined 58 points. Their resume also includes a road victory over ACC Atlantic Division champ Clemson, which was ranked as recently as late November. Last year the Horned Frogs limited Boise State in defense quite a bit and that was the key then, hold them. This year guess what??? It hasn’t changed a bot, they need to stop them cold if they want to be in this game. TCU’s offense has an equally good balance led by QB Andy Dalton, who has thrown for 2,484 yards with 22 touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s one of four players to have run for at least 500 yards for a rushing attack which ranked fifth nationally with 265.5 yards per game. Other players involved in offense are RB Joseph Turner, RB Matthew Tucker, WR Jeremy Kerley and WR Jimmy Young. The key for success will be a very organized defense and the offense just running the ball.

GAME ODDS

BOISE STATE 55
TCU -7 -120

THIS GAME WILL BE A CLASSIC CHALLENGE BETWEEN GREAT OFFENSE AND POWERFUL DEFENSE. BOTH TEAMS COME WITH NO SERIOUS INJURIES TO REPORT AND A BAG FULL OF SURPRISES. MY PICK WILL BE BOISE STATE BRONCOS +7 EV.

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