Poinsettia Bowl-TCU vs. Louisiana Tech-Pick and Analysis

This year’s version of the Poinsettia Bowl will take place next Wedensday, December 21st and pits the Mountain West champion Horned Frogs against the WAC champion Bulldogs. The Poinsettia bowl has had some great finishes in recent years and this could be another one if LA Tech can run with the Frogs. Here’s what they have to do to keep it close, and why I think ultimately TCU will win.

RB Matthew Tucker (29) who scored 11 TDs this season and defensive leader Tank Carder (43) jump for the onside kick vs BYU. TCU won 38-28. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Bowl Breakdown: TCU celebrated their last MWC season by running the table and will head to the big 12 next year. The Horned Frogs narrowly missed a third consecutive BCS Bowl and instead will head to San Diego to face Louisiana Tech. TCU’s 2 losses were the first game of the year to Baylor (remember that crazy kickoff game?) and then on OT loss to SMU October 1. They easily could have lost at Boise State, but the Broncos couldn’t kick which allowed TCU to get the Mountain West crown. TCU ranked 9th in points scored mainly behind their 3-headed rushing attack which averaged over 210 yards a game. That’s not a good sign for the Bulldogs from Louisiana Tech since their defense allows over 120 a game on the ground. Louisiana Tech will be no pushover though since they can score with the best of them especially since Colby Cameron took over. They’ve score 34.8 per game with 445.6 yards with Cameron under center. That was against teams with less talented defenses though then TCU’s which is 30th in points allowed and still has several starters from last year’s #1 defensive team in the country. I see this one being an entertaining, high-score, and relatively close game with TCU coming out victorious in the end. I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving the points since TCU is a huge favorite but since this is a straight up pick, I’ll go with the frogs.

Pro Prospect: Tank Carder-TCU-OLB: Improved his status last year with a solid bowl game and will look to do the same this year. He’s in the top 10 of 4-3 LB and has great instincts in tackling and coverage. He’ll probably be a 3rd or 4th round pick depending on what he does in this game and how he grades out at the combine.

This article is part of our ongoing series for our Bowl Mania. You can find the same type of analysis for the Beef ‘O’Brady’s, New Orleans, New Mexico, and Idaho Potato Bowls