Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Bowl Season Kicks-Off Tonight - Poinsettia Bowl Preview


The first of 32 bowl games begins tonight when TCU and Northern Illinois face off in the Poinsettia Bowl. Both teams represent small conferences. #25 TCU (10-2) is from the Mountain West and Northern Illinois (7-5) from the Mid-American.

2006 TCU Schedule/Results2006 NIU Schedule/Results
at Baylor W 17-7at(1) Ohio State L 12-35
Cal-Davis W 46-13Ohio L 23-35
(24) Texas Tech W 12-3Buffalo W 31-13
BYU L 17-31Indiana State W 48-14
at Utah L 7-20at Ball State W 40-28
at Army W 31-17at Miami (OH) W 28-25
Wyoming W 26-3at Western Michigan L14-16
at UNLV W 25-10Temple W 43-21
at New Mexico W 27-21at Iowa L 14-24
San Diego State W 52-0Toledo L 13-17
at Colorado State W 45-14Central Michigan W 31-10
Air Force W 38-14at Eastern Michigan W 27-0

Three Reasons to Watch the Poinsettia Bowl
1. TCU is one of the hottest teams in the country. The Horned Frogs have won seven games in a row with a stingy run defense that only allows 67.6 rushing yards per game.


2. NIU’s Garret Wolfe is the nation’s leading rusher with 1900 yards. He averages 6.5 yards per carry and has tallied 18 touchdowns this season.


3. The Horned Frogs are looking to win consecutive bowl games for the first time in 10 year’s.

My Prediction
Granted TCU hasn’t faced a running back the caliber of Wolfe all season but Northern Illinois seems to fade against stronger competition. I think the game will be close and come down to a late field goal. I’ll Take TCU to win 24-21.

Bowl Pick’Em Contest
Today is the last day to sign-up for the Bowl Pick’Em Contest. The prize is a $25.00 gift card and you have to register before the kick-off of the Poinsettia Bowl tonight.