TCU vs Boise Thoughts???

[griffey_mojo]

I really think the line is out of whack...I would have thought it would have been between Boise PK and Boise -3. Is there something that I missed???

TCU has a great D but Boise's D isn't to shabby either. Looking at the schedules, it appears that TCU played a tougher one.

The Broncos look too easy to me...and when it looks too good to be true it usually is.

Just wanted to see some others opinions/angles on the game...

Thanks

[john lennon]

Speed on defense. Is why im taking TCU to win. I also think that they will be able to run the ball. Boise St probably wins if they hold TCU cant run the ball. Just my .02 cents worth

[BettorsChat]

Public is all over TCU so I lean Boise

[harold_bush]

Greek has a 20* on TCU, good enough for me.

[BillMill71]

Amazing Defenses, both, but with Boise St DE Williams out (being replaced by a true freshman), DL Reveles out, TE O'Neill out, and young group of OL and WR, give me TCU and the Under, with TCU running the ball to control the clock.

My 2 cents

[hokie99]

I really like Boise. They have enough gadget plays to keep a speedy D like TCU's off balance. Their D is solid and they are extremely well coached. I think getting points is a gift here. Should be a great game.

[griffey_mojo]

Poinsettia Bowl Preview

Written by James Brown

Monday, 15 December 2008


This is the fourth in a series of ten bowl previews. I ranked the top ten here. This year’s Poinsettia Bowl could make a very strong case for being ranked more highly. It matches up two of the premier non-BCS teams: Boise State and TCU. Whenever you get a bowl game before Christmas, and it involves the #9 and #11 ranked teams, something is up. Boise State is a fairly well known team nationally, now, as they went undefeated in 2006 and beat Oklahoma in one of the best endings to a bowl game anyone can remember. That game had something for everyone, as Broncos RB Ian Johnson proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend after they pulled the upset. This year’s Boise State squad is thus far undefeated. TCU has had a much longer history of football. They can claim fantasy stud LaDainian Tomlinson, award namesake Davey O’Brien, and NFL Hall-of-Famer Sammy Baugh. They were also one of the top defenses in the country this season. While they have two losses, both of those were at the hands of schools in BCS Bowls- conference foe Utah, and regional rival Oklahoma. Here are some more thoughts on the game, as well as a prediction…

Coach Gary Patterson and TCU have one of the most impressive victories of the season- stomping #8 BYU 32-7. The Mountain West Conference gained a lot of respect this year by beating up on the Pac-10, and TCU finished second in the conference standings. I would have loved to see their defense tested more outside of the BYU game, as TCU’s next biggest win is probably their win over Stanford- not exactly the ‘96 Gators. I also would have liked to see this team compete against a more powerful BCS-level team, to add more ammunition to the BCS v. non-BCS debates. I think this team is very strong, but does not score a ton of points. At least not in the Oklahoma, Florida, etc. kind of way. So they’ll show how tough they are against Boise State, but this style of play would come across as much more impressive if they bullied a first- or second-tier BCS conference school. I’m not saying they would, but it would be interesting to see. The last point I want to make is concerning TCU’s diverse rushing attack. Five different players had 70+ carries this season. It will be a tough task for Boise State’s defense to handle this attack.

Boise State has that impressive victory from a couple years ago. They also beat Oregon, in Autzen Stadium, a team that finished second in the Pac-10. They have more impressive offensive numbers, but play in a very weak conference (WAC). Their final game of the regular season was a 61-10 thumping of (bowl-bound) Fresno State, a team that gets a lot of respect, nationally, as far as non-BCS teams go. I think Chris Petersen could get a long look to become a head coach at a BCS school. I am personally glad he hasn’t come to the SEC so far. He seems to be the candidate with the most potential to follow the Urban Meyer path, and that would make an already impossibly tough conference that much tougher. Unless Petersen leaves pretty soon (this game is in a week), this will be a non-factor in the preparation for this game. Although freshmen, at this time of year, are practically sophomores, I want to see how freshman Broncos QB Kellen Moore responds to playing the tough Frog defense.

The outcome, I believe, will be 17-10, TCU. I think the Frogs are a little more battle tested, and have something to prove against the undefeated Broncos. I am expecting stout defense on both sides, which means most casual college football fans should see a different look from the high-flying offense we normally see out of highly ranked, non-BCS teams.

another take by someone...

[griffey_mojo]

SAN DIEGO (AP) -As the starting quarterback at UC Davis more than 20 years ago, Chris Petersen had grown accustomed to the program's low key demeanor.

Two coaches were referred to as "coach," but everyone else was on a first name basis. No one screamed or ranted. Everything was taught and instructed with a calm and steady message.

Then Gary Patterson showed up.

"In came Gary, a fireball of energy," Petersen recalled Monday. "And we were like, 'who's this guy, where did he come from?"'

Paths that first intersected 22 years ago at then Division II UC Davis will meet again Tuesday night when Petersen's undefeated No. 9 Boise State faces Patterson's No. 11 TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl.

It's arguably the most anticipated non-BCS matchup of the bowl season, and a coup for a bowl game in just its fourth year of existence. The Broncos are trying to complete their second unbeaten season in the last three years, while a TCU win would help the Horned Frogs' resume as one of the elite non-BCS teams in the country.

"I think it's one of the best matchups of all the bowl games," Patterson said. "Besides the national championship game, I'd put this one right up with the one that'll be played up north of here."

The two head coaches share a bond as the leaders of two of the top non-BCS programs in the country, but their personal connection started in 1986. Petersen was a senior quarterback for the Aggies and Patterson was a newly hired linebackers coach, all of 26 years old and full of intensity that wasn't often seen inside the program.

"Really different and equally as good," Petersen said of Patterson's arrival. "It was really a unique and interesting change."

Added Patterson, "I was a little bit more energetic."

While the UC Davis family tree of offensive minds - Oregon's Mike Bellotti, former college and NFL head coach Paul Hackett and Petersen, among others - is well known, it can now claim a defensive forward-thinker to its bloodline, even if Patterson hung around for only one year.

At the time, Patterson was in the early stages if his career, bouncing around the country to the next job opening. It was his first venture west, after previously spending two years at Tennessee Tech. He joined head coach Jim Sochor at a time when the Aggies were the dominant Division II program in the West. From 1971 to 1990, UC Davis held at least a share of its conference title every year.

Ironically, Patterson was the defensive coordinator at Sonoma State in 1991, the school that ended UC Davis' title run.

"One thing I learned from UC Davis was I learned how to teach even at a higher level. I came from the Midwest and I found out there were different ways to do things," Patterson said.

"They didn't have whistles. They didn't raise their voice. It was a unique situation and one of those situations where you understood why they were successful. The problem for me was it didn't fit my personality."

Patterson, who isn't one to hide his emotions, left after only one year to become the defensive coordinator at Cal Lutheran. And while Petersen wasn't directly coached by Patterson, each left a lasting impression with the other, one that has carried over into their careers as head coaches.

After Boise State beat TCU in the Fort Worth Bowl in 2003, Patterson and his coaches paid a visit to Boise to swap and share ideas.

"There was a lot of information passed back and forth," Petersen said. "Gary knows what he's doing and if you get one or two things to focus on that you are not doing, it can really make a difference."

Petersen hopes there weren't too many secrets shared. His young, but talented, offense will get its toughest test of the season against Patterson's fast and aggressive defense that was second in the country and held high-powered Oklahoma to its lowest point total of the season.

The Broncos averaged 49 points over their final five games of the regular season, but those numbers came against teams with a combined record of 20-38 this season.

"It's a pretty impressive (defense) to watch," said Kellen Moore, Boise State's redshirt freshman quarterback. "They don't give up a lot of points."

CBS Sportsline...