The TCU Horned Frogs have played in some quite illustrious bowl games of late, as they have won the Rose Bowl and competed in the Fiesta Bowl. This year though, they have a significantly lesser bowl game to attend, as they try to beat the college football betting lines against the WAC champs, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
La Tech had itself a great year, going 8-4 and finishing up the campaign on a seven-game winning streak. Sure, its schedule wasn't all that tough, especially in a WAC without the Boise State Broncos in it any longer. The Bulldogs though, did only lose by a point to the Houston Cougars and challenged the Mississippi State Bulldogs to the wire this year, and they are a significantly tougher task for the Horned Frogs than you might think.
The Dogs aren't particularly strong either offensively or defensively, but they find ways to get the job done. RB Lennon Creer had 10 TDs and 838 yards on the ground this year. The real key though, is getting teh ball in the hands of WR Quinton Patton. He had 73 receptions for 1,135 yards and 10 TDs, averaging a team best 15.5 yards per reception as well.
TCU has to feel like it got hosed out of the Sugar Bowl this year. It was the highest ranked non-AQ team to win its conference, and it did so by winning seven straight games down the stretch, including going on the Smurf Turf and knocking off Boise State in what amounted to be the MWC Championship Game.
That being said, the Horned Frogs are going to want to head to the Big East in style this year, winning a bowl game in convincing fashion. They were dominating against a number of teams this year, and their only losses came on the road to the Baylor Bears and at the SMU Mustangs. Both games were incredibly close calls as well, and had either game been won, TCU would have been in the BCS.
This ground game averaged 210.2 yards per game this year, No. 20 in the land, and the end result was 41.7 points per game. TCU can definitely score with the best of them, and if you take away the games against Baylor, SMU, and Boise State, the defense only allowed an average of 14.4 points per game.
The Horned Frogs are amongst the biggest favorites on the bowl schedule at 5Dimes Sportsbook, as they are getting the nod by 10.5 points. The Poinsettia Bowl 'total' comes in at 58.5.
